The Story of Serah Farron
by TheBlueCrystal
Summary: Story begins before the Purge with Serah, Lightning, Snow, & Team Nora. Follows game events except Serah joins the l'cie to save the world. Plot gets tweaked along the way, intertwining some new story line with game plot. The ending will be much different - Will our heros overcome their differences, saving humanity & Cocoon? Diff pairings in the end, (except Snow/Serah) -
1. Chapter 1

_Please review and let me know what you think. I'm attempting to follow some of the mythology and tweak the game in that direction and to tweak it allowing Serah to be part of the adventure. You can use your imagination to include parts of the game that I don't, if you wish. _

_Thanks for reading and reviews are most welcome... Everything belongs to Square-Enix_

* * *

Gazing out her bedroom window into the night, she was trying to imagine where her future might take her. "The University in Eden" she thought "that's where I'll be next year", as she sighed "I don't really want to go, but Light wants me to. A history teacher is a good thing to be, after all." Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door, opening and closing.

"Light," Serah called, "you're finally home!" She ran down stairs and, giving Lightning a hug, said "I kept dinner warm for you, are you hungry?" "Famished" was the answer, and with that, Serah sat her sister down at the dinner table and started dishing up the food she had prepared earlier. Lightning was a soldier with the Guardian Corps, joining shortly after Serah and Lightning's parents had died. She had been Serah's guardian, her protector, for all these years, yet she was only 20 years old.

"Long day, huh?," her chin propped up in the palm of her hand and her elbow resting on the table, as she watched Lightning enjoying her meal. She eagerly awaited to hear the adventures of Light's day, as she always had in the past.

"Yeah", was the response from a very tired soldier, "We ran across a big pack of monsters, nothing we couldn't handle, though."

Serah asked, "Did you kill them all?" trying to get more details of the fight.

"Sure we did, we had to chase some down, but we got them all" Lightning responded, as she finished her dinner. "That dam NORA bunch showed up again, shot one of the monsters down just as I was going in for the kill. They're going to get themselves killed or get someone else killed by their constant interference into military affairs." Lightning's temper started to flare and Serah tried to calm her down.

"Well," Serah told her sister, "I'm glad they were there, at least it doesn't look like I have to patch you up very much this time," as she went to get the medical kit. Light smirked, but she was still irritated at the fact she was robbed of a victory by a renegade vigilante group that wasn't supposed to be out there to start with.

Lightning showered and allowed Serah to apply some ointment, and an occasional bandage, to the multiple scratches and abrasions she had acquired during the encounter. "There you go," Serah cheerfully said, "you're good as new!"

"Thanks Serah," Lightning responded, smiling at her. "So, how did things go with you today?"

"Nothing much," Serah said, "but I've been thinking about looking for a job, part-time maybe. I just want to try something different and the extra gil can't hurt…What do you think?"

Lightning paused to think,deciding it probably wouldn't hurt if Serah found something short term. She didn't want anything interfering with her attending the University when the time came. "Sounds alright with me," she finally said to Serah, "but nothing weird or dangerous, you hear me?"

That made Serah laugh and she gave Lightning a big hug. "I'll start looking tomorrow," she said, excitement streaming through her as she bid Lightning a good night, watching her warrior big sister head upstairs to sleep for the night.

Serah was alone again, this time sitting outside in the back veranda, thinking about all the exciting and scary stories she had heard from her big sister over the years. The battles, the missions, the monsters, she would try to imagine herself in those stories – the adventure and excitement of it all – fighting side by side with Light.

Serah knew she could never be like Lightning, and really, she didn't want to be, that's not who she was – but right now, she wasn't sure just exactly what she wanted, or who she wanted to become. It was just a hunger for something different, something exciting, she wanted her own path to follow. "Maybe I should be an archeologist instead of a teacher" she thought "I could travel the world and dig up ancient artifacts for the museums."

Shifting her thoughts, she started to think about tomorrow and what kind of job she should start looking for – "I love to prepare food," she thought, "so that's an option if it's the right place, then there are all the small shops that line the beachfront in Bodhum – that would fun. I love to read, so the library might be an option if they needed someone." "Oh, and of course," she thought, "I've taken 3 years of archery in high school - the Archery Arena was always looking for instructors – so maybe there would be something there."

The next morning, Serah was up extra early and had breakfast waiting for her sister. "Did you sleep well?" Serah asked, inspecting some of the injuries on Lightning that she had patched up the previous night.

"Yes, I did Serah and quit fussing over me. I'm fine", Lightning retorted, shooing her sister away with her hands. Lightning hated being fussed over and Serah knew it, but she always did it anyway. Serah giggled at Lightning's hand gestures, letting her sister sit down and eat breakfast.

Lightning was off to work and now it was time for Serah to start her search for a job – she thought she would start on the computer first. Her resume had been prepared months ago, but her sister wouldn't let her work while she was in school, so she had never used it. Serah's friends had after-school jobs and most of them were working full time now.

After a couple of hours searching, she had submitted her resume to a dozen places – cook for a small café, waitress, several clothing shops, a jewelry store, ice cream shop…. Now she intended to wander through Bodhum and see if there were any job openings that weren't on the computer. She felt exhilarated by the actions she was taking, however small, to start to take control of her life, her destiny, her future.

Feelings of guilt were also gnawing at her, knowing how much her sister had given up to make sure she was safe and cared for while she was growing up. She would never forget the sacrifice that Lightning had made for her and she hoped she could repay her somehow in the future. "Poor Light," she thought, "She gave up everything to take care of us. Her schooling, her friends, even her hopes and dreams – she became Lightning to be strong for both of us. If I can make my own way in this world, Light would never have to worry about me again and could pursue her own dreams and desires. She had to have some," Serah reasoned, even if she had never expressed them to her.

She loved Bodhum; it was small and beautiful – not crowded like the big cities. The water by the beachfront was always smooth and alluring, reflecting any light that struck it. She could stare at it for hours and be lost in its magical transformations while dreaming of exotic places and adventures.

After walking around the town for an hour or so, she decided to get something to eat. She hadn't found any job openings yet, but was determined to set out again after a small break. She came across a small café named the Bodhum Inn and went inside. It was a small quaint looking place, and the food smelled quite good, so she sat down and ordered a sandwich and a coffee mocha.

Soon the waitress brought it over to her table and Serah took a bite of the sandwich while examining the interior of the little café. Much to her surprise, there was a help wanted sign right by the cashier station. It read Part-Time Help Wanted.

"Oh my," she thought, excitement bubbling through her, "this would be a good place to work in – and its right on the beachfront." She quickly went up to the man behind the counter and inquired about the sign. He told her they needed help with the lunch crowd and the hours would be from 10am to 2pm – her days off would be Sundays and Mondays. Duties would be where ever they needed the help at the time – everything from cooking to cleaning tables.

As it turned out, the man and the waitress were married and they owned and ran the place by themselves. Chris was a tall slender man, with short light brown hair, Jade was a sweet dark haired woman with warm brown eyes, both were in their late twenties. Serah already liked them both.

Business was picking up and they just needed more help during the lunch hour to keep up. After a brief exchange of questions and answers, he offered Serah the job and she gratefully accepted.

"When could you start?" he asked. Serah glanced at the clock on wall, which read 9:30 – how about today, she answered. Chris and his wife looked at one another and chuckled as Chris responded, "Sounds great! You finish your meal and we will get you set up to start at 10," removing the help wanted sign.

Jade told Serah she would have her clearing tables and working behind the counter to start with, until they had a chance to train her on the other aspects of the business. Jade tied a pretty little white apron with ruffles at the bottom around Serah's small waist – it matched the one that Jade herself wore.

"This not only keeps your clothes from getting ruined, but it adds to the atmosphere of a cottage inn," Jade said with a smile.

Then a small trickle of people started to enter the café and gradually the place started to fill up. After an hour, Serah was taking orders from the counter while Jade was waiting tables, Chris had the grill going non-stop. Jade and Serah worked hand in hand to clear and clean tables, re-fill coffee, and service the counter area. Jade worked the register as people left, paying on their way out and was so impressed with Serah learning so quickly on her feet.

Three more hours had passed and everything was starting to slow down as more people were leaving than arriving. "Mercy!" Serah thought, "what a day! How did these two cope with this many people all at once?" It reminded her of something her sister had always told her "It's not a question whether you can or you can't, you just do it."

Two more customers entered the café and sat at the counter arguing over some machine. One had blue shoulder length hair and was wearing very fashionable clothing. The other was shorter and sported a mass of messy blond hair.

"Hello, can I help you?" Serah asked the boys, as the two continued to argue. The two boys stopped arguing, looking over at Serah, "Hi," the blue haired one said, "My name is Yuj, this is Maqui, I've never seen you here before, what's your name?" Serah raised her eyebrows at the boys and replied, "Well, my name is Serah and I just started working here today. Can I get you something?"

"I'd like to know about you" Yuj said as Maqui elbowed him in the ribs. "Smoothies, we came in to get a couple of Smoothies" Maqui stammered out. "Ok, what flavor do you want?" Serah asked, ignoring Yuj's earlier statement. "Strawberry" Yuj replied, while Maqui nodded his head in agreement.

Serah turned to make the Smoothies as both boys silently watched her, Yuj was trying to think of something witty to say to the girl. She returned with the drinks and announced "There you are, two Strawberry smoothies." Maqui responded by thanking her, and Yuj also thanked her, adding that he really liked the color of her hair.

"Maqui!, Yuj!" Jade shouted from across the room, I haven't seen you two for a while, where have you been keeping yourselves?" Serah was grateful for Jade's interruption and moved out from behind the counter, towards the tables.

As Jade talked with the boys, Serah busied herself with cleaning tables as her shift came to an end. Jade and Chris both thanked her, saying they looked forward to seeing her tomorrow. Sarah took off her apron and hung it on the hook behind the counter, gathered her things, then headed for the door, waving goodbye to everyone.

Maqui watched her leave and turned to Yuj, "She's really pretty!" Yuj shot him a soft punch to the arm and said, "as if you had any chance." "Shut up, Yuj!" Maqui retorted, while rubbing his arm where Yuj had hit him, "You sure didn't get very far with her".

Serah hurried herself along the beach to get home and start dinner. She needed to clean up the house also, as she hadn't anticipated actually starting a job today, leaving dirty dishes in the sink and the beds unmade. "Mercy, what a day, I can't wait to tell Light," she thought, "I set out on a mission and accomplished it." This was a big step for Serah for it was her idea to find a job – not someone else's idea – hers, and she did it with no one else's help. She was reveling in the thought of it.

She had not noticed that she had caught the eye of someone that was walking the opposite direction of her on the beach. He was headed to NORA House and had glanced towards the water just in time to see her hurrying along the beach. He had his coat slung over his shoulder, and a bandana tied around his blond hair that was almost shoulder length.

His blue eyes gazed at her, and had turned to watch her continue on her journey home. "Wow!," he thought to himself, "she's a beauty!. Wonder who she is?, don't remember seeing her around here before." Serah was out of sight, and he turned back to continued his path to NORA House, hoping to meet up with the rest of the gang that should be waiting for him there.

Serah arrived home, hurrying with her chores and getting dinner started. "I hope Light comes home on time tonight", she thought, "I'm so excited to tell her about my day".

While in the kitchen, a big black spider made its appearance on the wall across the room, Serah picked up a knife and threw it at the spider, pinning it to the wall and killing it instantly. She hated spiders, especially these big ones, with their hairy arms and icky looking mouth parts. She had been killing spiders this way for a long time and, with practice, had perfected a knife throwing technique.

Actually, Serah had made a game of it when she was bored and alone. She would close her eyes and listen to Lightning's words, spoken to her when she was trying to learn archery the first year, "Focus, Serah – push everything out of you mind and focus on your target, watch the way it moves, listen to the sounds it makes. Focus only on your target". She would then open her eyes, grab the knife and throw it at whatever target she had set up.

She pushed the step stool up to the wall, grabbed the knife and released the dead critter, which fell to floor. She washed the area with a sponge and inserted instant spackling into the cut of the wall. "Lightning would kill me if she knew I messed with knives like this," she thought, "geez, it was hard enough to convince her to let me participate in the archery thing at school so I could get my PE credits."

She picked up the spider with a paper towel and disposed of it in the trash. Pity she thought, these spiders are good to eat, but with only one, it wasn't worth the effort to prepare it and she didn't like touching the hairy things anyway.

Dinner was done, now she just waited for her sister to come home, folding laundry to occupy the time. She heard the front door open and there was her soldier, home on time for once. She immediately started telling Lightning about her job and the day she had.

"Whoa!" Lightning said with a smirk on her face, "Settle down! Let me go change and we can talk over dinner, OK?" Serah nodded in agreement, grinning and holding her hands clasped together under her chin.

The two talked for a long time about each other's day and Serah felt so good that she had so much to tell her. It was time for sleep now, and the two headed upstairs to their respective rooms – Serah gave Lightning a hug good-night and stepped into her room. She dressed for bed and slipped between the sheets falling almost immediately asleep. Mercy, what a day it had been.


	2. Chapter 2

_ These first few chapters describe Snow and Serahs progressing relationship, and how Lightning deals with the it. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!_

* * *

This was her second day at work and she arrived a little early, hoping Chris and Jade could show her how to operate the Espresso/Cappuccino machine, and some of the other cooking apparatus. The commercial varieties were so different from the ones at home. She was really enjoying her job, meeting a wide variety of people from professionals to tourists and learning new things along the way.

Serah's shift was ending and she decided to treat herself to a mocha, since free coffee drinks were one of the perks of working there. On her way to work, she had noticed a pier that jetted out over the water and wanted to relax there for a while. Lightning's regiment had a mission in the Ville Peaks area that was going to keep her out in the field for seven days, so there was no need to rush home. Bidding farewell to Chris and Jade, she headed for the pier.

Walking to the end of the pier, she sat down and dangled her feet off the end. Now gazing across the water her thoughts were far away remembering things of the past and wondering what the future will hold for herself and her sister.

"I don't want to be alone, anymore," she thought "and someday I want a family of my own. Maybe going to the University won't be so bad, I can make some new friends there and maybe I can figure out what direction I want to take my life." Her thoughts drifted off into fantasy, as she was imagining herself fearlessly fighting monsters, next to Light, in an exotic, far away land.

NORA House was the name of the Bar/Restaurant that was directly behind the pier that Serah was sitting at. The NORA members would patrol the vicinity of Bodhum for trouble, which mainly consisted of controlling the dangerous forms of wildlife that would come too close to city.

Inside the restaurant, Maqui was complaining to Gadot about a part he needed to fix one of the Aero Bikes that had broken down. Gadot assured him he would talk to the boss about finding one, and to quit bothering him about it. Maqui and Gadot were both members of NORA as was Yuj. Lebreau, also a member of NORA, was a very pretty dark-haired young woman and was the cook and barkeeper for the establishment.

The boss climbed up the stairs to enter NORA House, after checking out a couple of leads on some abandoned equipment he was hoping they could use to supplement what they already had. Gadot told him about the Aero Bike that had broken down and Snow told him he might know where he could get the part. "Good," Gadot said with relief, "Maqui's been driving me nuts about it all day." Snow laughed, seeing the agitation leaving Gadot's face.

Snow grabbed a cold energy drink from the cooler, popped the cap, and guzzled down half of it. He walked over to entrance overlooking the beach, and then leaned up against door well while finishing his drink. He watched the people on the beach, glancing at the pier to see several people there walking back to beach, then spotted someone sitting at the end of the pier, small in stature with a single side pony tail and wearing a white lacy blouse. "That's the little beauty I saw on the beach yesterday," he thought, "I've gotta check this out."

Snow slowly walked down the pier, nervously touching his fists together in front of him, formulating in his head what he was going to say to the beautiful young woman to get her attention. "I'll just say 'Hi' to her" he thought, "It will get her attention, then just go from there, see what happens."

Serah was lost in her thoughts, still gazing across the water and sipping on the last of her Mocha, not paying attention to the footsteps coming up from behind her. "Hi, there!" Snow said in his normal booming voice, startling Serah back to the real world with a jerk. As she turned to where the voice had come from, Snow immediately apologized by saying "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you" in a softer, apologetic tone.

Serah giggled and started to rise to her feet, Snow offered his hand to help her up. She gladly accepted the help, noticing the tremendous strength his arm possessed. "Such a large man, but, oh dear, he is so handsome," she thought, as she lifted her eyes to meet the face that had spoken to her. The blond hair that poked out from below his bandana wisped in the wind and she felt that his blue eyes could pierce her very soul.

"My name is Snow… Snow Villiers and yours?" he asked. "Serah… Serah Farron" she answered, as she felt her face flush and tilted her head shyly to the side. "It's very nice to meet you Serah Farron," Snow said, smiling and holding his hand out to shake Serah's hand. Serah accepted his handshake and repeated "It's very nice to meet you too, Snow Villiers" and giggled again, while nodding her head.

"Would you like to go over to the NORA House with me, ya know, sit n'talk, get something eat?" He asked, as he pointed to the building directly in front of them. "There's a veranda on the side that's really nice" he continued, "Come on, what do you say? Huh," almost pleadingly.

"Sure", Sarah nodded, with her hands clasped together below her chin "Lets go!"

They walked slowly down the pier then onto the beach, and soon were walking up the stairs into the establishment, talking the entire time. Snow glanced around the room as they entered and Lebreau was the only one there at the moment, with the exception of a few customers.

He introduced her to Serah and after a few exchanges of words between them, Lebreau told Serah "If he gives you any trouble, let me know and I'll take care of him for you" with a big grin on her face.

"HEY" Snow protested, "I'm a nice guy, give me a break, will ya!" They all laughed and Serah already felt comfortable with them, but she thought, "NORA House, I am so dead, Light's going to kill me, if I'm lucky."

Snow fixed them both an icy energy drink and he motioned to Serah to follow him, telling Lebreau they would be out on the veranda. Snow chose two comfortable chairs next to each other with a small coffee-like table in front of them, where he sat down their drinks. He took his coat off and threw it on the first available chair and Serah noticed the large muscles in his arms and across his chest.

"Oh Dear!", she thought, "can this guy get any better?" Her thoughts made her blush, and she dropped her head so Snow wouldn't see it on her face.

Lebreau had made them something to eat, since neither one had eaten since breakfast time. The customers came and went, hours had passed by while Snow and Serah talked and laughed together.

Snow was in awe at her beauty. Her strawberry blond hair was almost pink and wisped in the breeze around her beautiful ivory-skinned face. Her big blue eyes enchanted him, as if he could get lost in them and never return, if he lingered too long. Her mouth was perfectly proportionate to her face and the shine of pink gloss on her lips called to him to kiss them over and over.

They had lost track of time, suddenly it was 10pm before the two knew it. "Oh dear!," Serah exclaimed, "I have to get going, I have to go to work tomorrow," as she started gathering up her things.

"I'll walk you home, you shouldn't be alone this late at night" Snow replied with concern in his voice, pulling on his coat. "Thank You" she said relieved, and grateful they would have a little more time together.

At the house, Serah invited him in and asked if she could get him something to eat or drink, and he accepted a glass of water. He sat down at the sofa, stretching his arm out along the top, Serah sat next to him while he drank the water and put the glass down on the coffee table.

Neither said a word, as they looked into each other's eyes, Snow raised his hand to Serah's neck gently pulling her to his lips, kissing those beautiful lips he had been admiring all night long. It was a short little kiss, as if asking permission to continue, then another.

Serah's back nervously tightened, as she raised her hand to his cheek and accepted his kisses pleasurably. Snow positioned his other arm around her and slowly pulled her body closer to his own. She relaxed into his arm which supported her, and their bodies formed comfortably together, while she slid her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck. Serah slid her other arm around Snows waist, while he kissed her again allowing his tongue to explore her lips, tasting the Strawberry gloss she wore. Serah responded by allowing him entry into her mouth and they shared a long passionate kiss.

He then gave her a couple of short little kisses, and softly spoke to her with a grin on his face, "I'd better get going and let you get some sleep, Miss Farron." Serah smiled and giggled, nodding in agreement. "Can I see you tomorrow?" He asked in a low and soft voice.

"Yes," she replied, trying to contain her excitement, "I get off at two." Smiling and giving her a wink and click of his tongue, he said, "I'll see you then."

She walked him to the door and he embraced her once more for a kiss, lifting her completely off her feet. Gently setting her back down on her feet, he said goodnight, waving to her as he walked out the door. She stood in the doorway watching him walk away, then out of sight. She shut the door and fell back against it, closing her eyes to picture him in her mind. "Oh my", she thought, "I'm falling for the leader of NORA... Light is going to kill me twice... I am so DEAD. So, So Dead."

"Oh no, she wouldn't kill Snow too would she?" She gasped, as her eyes shot open and she covered her mouth with her hand, "Of course, she would! She'll torture him first, just for the fun of it, and then she'll kill him!... She'll probably burn NORA House down to the ground, too!"

"OK- Serah, calm down, don't panic", she was talking aloud to herself and pacing the living room, "I'll just have to be careful, break things to her a little at a time. Let her get used to the idea I'm seeing someone. I'll keep reminding her I'm 18 and I need to make my own decisions. It'll work – it has to work."

When Snow was out of sight of the house, he did a little hop and threw his fist in the air, "Oh Ya!" He shouted, overjoyed he was going to see her tomorrow. "She is so beautiful" his thoughts were racing through his head, "easy to talk to, and oh so sweet." He could still taste her lip gloss on his lips and the smell of her hair still lingered in his head. He quickened his pace to get back to NORA House, he had a lot to do tomorrow and wanted an early start so he could meet Serah at two.

Serah was still plotting her strategy she was going to use on her sister – it wouldn't be easy, she thought, but she'd just have to ease Lightning into being OK with this and not kill Snow in a fit of rage before Serah even got a chance to really know him. Light had run off every boyfriend Serah ever had and dating had been a nightmare in school.

She got into bed and lay there thinking of Snow, she loved everything about him, his looks, his easy going personality, his strength, his conviction to his ideas,….she drifted off to sleep before she could finish her mental list of his attributes that she loved in this man already.

* * *

Snow had always been an early riser, unless the group had been out late monster hunting or taking care of other troubles that may affect the safety of Bodhum. Today was no different; he was up early and wanted to make sure his all his business was taken care of by two so he could spend time with Serah.

Maqui worked on group's equipment in the garage behind NORA House, Snow had arranged to have the abandoned equipment he found the previous day brought in for Maqui. It included the parts to the Aero Bike they needed to fix their broken one.

Once the equipment arrived Maqui went right to work, the kid of 17 was a mechanical genius and loved working on gadgets and machinery. He had the Bike working again in no time, then moved on with the various other projects he had lined up. One of the group's sources of income was fixing up abandoned equipment and selling what they didn't need.

NORA House was owned and operated by Snow, Gadot, and Lebreau. This was the group's main source of income and they all worked hard at keeping it running. Snow and Gadot provided security, along with some light bartending duties and making sure the supplies were stocked to adequate levels.

The group also had a small plot of land, a short distance from the establishment, where they grew vegetables and herbs that Lebreau used to cook with. They also sold what was left for an additional source of income. Yuj was in charge of this part of the groups endeavors. Since the fal'Cie produced most of the food for the inhabitants of Cocoon, fresh grown vegetables were something of a rarity.

Snow and Gadot arrived back at NORA house at about one in the afternoon. Lebreau, Maqui, and Yuj were also there, and greeted the two as they entered. "Hey, you guys are back early" Lebreau pointed out, "Did you get everything?" "Yep, everything will start showing up tomorrow," Snow responded, throwing a triumphant fist in the air.

"The boss here has a hot date and wanted to get back, he wouldn't even stop to get something to eat," Gadot spouted off, while rifling thru the refrigerator looking for something to munch on. "Yeah, well, she's gorgeous and I ain't messing things up because you're hungry" Snow shot back, with a smirk on his face.

Yuj asked "Who is she boss?" "I'll bring her over and you can meet her, but right now, I gotta hit the shower and get cleaned up" Snow responded, as he headed to his room.

Snow couldn't wait to see her again; her beauty was burned into his thoughts, the conversation, the laughing, the kisses they shared the night before, was all rushing through his mind all at once – the anticipation was killing him.

"If it's the same woman I met yesterday, she is a beauty, nice little thing, too!" Lebreau told Yuj. "I think her name was Serah."

"Yep, that's all I heard today was Serah this and Serah that – the boss has got it bad for this one," Gadot grumbled, shaking his head.

"Maqui and I met a girl named Serah at the Bodhum Inn a couple of days ago" Yuj piped in, while looking at Maqui.

"That's her" Gadot responded, "I haven't even met her yet, but I know a lot about her after today!" Everyone started busting up laughing.

Two o'clock and Snow was just walking up to the entrance of the Bodhum Inn. He knew Chris and Jade and threw up his hand and said "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Snow!" Jade exclaimed" "Great to see, ya!" Chris peeked out of the cooking area and said "Hey, Snow, how you been?"

While she was cleaning the counter, Jade asked "Something I can get for you, Snow?"

"Uh, no, I came to pick up Serah, I didn't miss her, did I?" as he looked around and noticed she was nowhere to be seen.

"She's in the back freshening up", Jade replied, with a big smile on her face. "She said she was meeting someone special after work and wanted to look nice – don't you tell her I told you that, OK?" winking at Snow. Snow acknowledged her with a big grin, just as Serah came out of the back room.

"Hi, Serah – wow, you look great!" Snow proclaimed, as he walked towards Serah, holding his hand out to her. Serah felt a blush come over face as she smiled warmly at him, she took Snow's hand and they both bid farewell to Chris and Jade as they left the café.

"They make a cute couple, don't they?" Jade commented to Chris. "Yeah, but so do we" he responded, giving Jade a kiss on the cheek.

Maqui was on the lookout at the door, waiting for Snow to bring Serah over to the House to meet everyone. "Here they come!" he exclaimed to everyone. Lebreau stayed behind the bar, Gadot remained where he was on the other side of bar, sipping on a beer and eating a sandwich, while Yuj and Maqui rushed to the veranda. "It's her," Maqui whispered to Yuj, "the girl we met at the Inn."

Hand in hand, they entered NORA House and Lebreau immediately shouted "Hey Serah! how's it going?" Serah waved and responded "Great!" while nodding her head. Snow introduced Serah to Gadot, Gadot extended his hand and pleasantly said "Nice to meet you Serah, I've heard a lot about you" while giving Snow a glancing look.

Serah in turn shook Gadot's hand and replied "Really nice to meet you too, Snow has told me so much about you."

"Well, don't believe any of it, I'm actually a pretty decent guy" He responded and they all laughed at the comment. "I didn't tell her anything bad, I wanted to keep the story short" Snow retorted, smirking at Gadot. Serah and Lebreau were laughing at the two as they bantered back and forth.

Heading to the veranda, he found Yuj and Maqui lounging in a couple of chairs and proceeded to introduce them to Serah. "Oh, I know you two, you were at the café a couple of days ago" Serah commented.

Both boys looked at each other and blushed, Snow picked up on it immediately, "OK you two – he said –out with it."

Maqui broke down and started saying "We wanted to get smoothies; Yuj is the one that tried to hit on her." "I did not Maqui! - I just introduced ourselves – you're the one that said she was pretty" Yuj stated, trying to defend himself.

Both boys blush reddened, as Snow got a huge grin on his face realizing they had tried to put the moves on Serah and said "Well, it's good to know you two have such good taste in women, but she's off limits now – got it?"

"Sure Snow" Yuj replied sheepishly, while Maqui nodded his head in agreement.

Serah had both hands covering her face and was trying to hide her laughter, Gadot and Lebreau were laughing hysterically in the other room.


	3. Chapter 3

_In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big Snow/Serah fan. Lightning is another of my favorites and I'm attempting to get her to realize how detached she has become to life faster than the game did. Please review and let me know what you think of the story. Thank You to everyone reading... Don't forget to review..._

* * *

Snow knew he loved her from the very start; she was everything he ever wanted in a woman. Her beauty dazzled him and her warm personality drew him in like a magnet. He had never felt this close to any of the other women he had dated in the past.

One night, as they walked on the beach, Serah paused by the water and gazed over it, remarking how beautiful it was. She bent down and put her hand in the water, swirling it with her fingers, and then splashed Snow. "Hey, you!" he hollered, as Serah was laughing and took off running down the beach.

He ran after her, loudly saying "Come back here!" He caught up to her and embraced her by her waist, lifting her up and off her feet. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, still laughing at her escapades.

Snow whispered in her ear "Serah Farron, I love you." It was the first time he told her of his true feelings and felt vulnerable to reaction he may receive. "Oh, Snow" Serah softy said "I love you, too!" as she turned her head slightly and kissed him on the neck.

He put her back on her feet, then sat himself down on the sand. He reached his hand out to Serah and gently pulled her down to sit in his lap. They embraced each other and passionately kissed on the softly lit beach, as Snow thought "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

As days turned into weeks, Serah and Snow spent as much time together as possible, as their relationship deepened even further. Serah had done a pretty good job keeping her sister at bay, feeding her small bits of information so she would accept the fact that Serah even had a boyfriend.

Serah had explained the whole situation to Snow, so he understood why she couldn't introduce him to her sister, at least until she had gotten her conditioned to the idea. Lightning had managed to wrangle the name of Serah's new boyfriend out of Serah, but Lightning had not recognized the name – but that would change sooner than Serah would have liked it to.

Amador, Lightning's commanding officer, knew all about Serah and Snow's relationship, knowing it wasn't going to pretty when the Lieutenant found out who Serah's boyfriend really was. Lightning was black and white, right or wrong – nothing in middle – and NORA was wrong in her mind, period.

Amador was close to Lightning and Serah, as he had met Lightning when she first joined the GC and mentored her through her training, later becoming her commanding officer. Serah had come to know him as a good friend and he was quite kind to her, listening to her problems when there was no one else she could talk to while she was growing up. She had come to trust his advice, especially about Lightning.

Like most people in Bodhum, Amador liked Snow and the NORA members. In his view, they were not of the malleolus kind, only tring to help people out where they could. The fact that NORA didn't like, or trust, the Sanctum or PSICOM, reflected his own feelings, but he would have to follow their orders if they claimed jurisdiction over the GC – NORA did not.

Lightning's regiment was on patrol again outside the city, as reports of increasing monster activity had been reported. She was anticipating the encounter, hoping to hone her fighting skills as they hadn't had an engagement with monsters for a couple of weeks. The regiment was split up into smaller groups to cover more ground and was supposed to meet up again in a glade up ahead.

Seems the GC wasn't the only ones hunting monsters that day, as Lightning's group arrived at the glade, it was littered with dead monsters. Amador was there with his group of soldiers and Sergeant Brea was there with his group, and there was NORA again. Lightning was immediately furious seeing NORA there, and started asking what had happened of the other troop members.

"We were ambushed" said one GC soldiers from Brea's group, "They came from every direction, all at once – we tried to regroup and attack, but we were left on the defensive. That's when the NORA guys showed up and gave us edge we needed to go into an attack position. We were able to start taking them down with their help. Amador gave us the reinforcements we needed and down they all went".

Then she heard one of NORA members shout "Hey, who are the HERO'S?" while raising his fist in the air and the rest of them responded, shouting "We are, monsters are no match for NORA!" She narrowed her eyes onto the one that had shouted, then asked one of the GC men, "Who is that?" The response she received made her entire body quiver with anger and her blood boil – "Oh, that's Snow Villiers – he's the leader – he's an OK guy."

"That's Serah's boyfriend? – leader of NORA! – thinks he's a Hero?" as she ran it through her head. "I don't think so – this is going to end now!" she murmured under her breath. Lightning pulled her weapon and approached the group and started yelling at them "You're going to get yourselves killed or somebody else killed by your interference!"

"Hey" Snow retorted, "You're the one we got out of tight spot about a month ago, as I recall."

"I was perfectly fine – I didn't need or want your help" she yelled back. "Besides", he shouted raising his fist in the air, "Hero's never die!" The NORA group rallied at that, all raising their fists in the air and yelling "Ya! Hero's never die!"

Amador stepped in realizing Lightning was at her boiling point "Lieutenant, let it go. We don't have any casualties here and I don't want any after the fact."

Lightning narrowed her eyes on Snow and made one more statement "Stay AWAY from my sister!"

Snow grinned at her and, clasping his hands behind his head, retorted back "So your Lightning Farron – yep, I see the resemblance now. I think it should be up to Serah who she sees – don't you?"

Without another word, Lightning sneered at him, sheathed her blade, and turned on her heels to rejoin her regiment; rage was running hotly through her veins, as she wanted put an end to him right then and there. "What was Serah thinking, hanging out with this bunch?"

Snow relayed the story to Serah of the encounter when he met up with her later that day. "Oh, dear!" she sadly said, as tears started forming in her eyes "It's not going to be a pleasant evening tonight, she's going to kill me."

"I'll go with you Serah, you don't have to face her alone" Snow told her, holding her close to him "I'll protect you".

Serah looked up at Snow and declared "No, I need to face her tonight by myself, besides it will only make her even more upset if you are there, and I have to start standing up to her. I have to make her realize this is my life and I need to live it on my terms, not hers." Snow didn't like the idea, but agreed to Serah's wishes.

Lightning and Serah had a long heated argument that night over Serah's new boyfriend. Lightning was in a rage, yelling that she didn't want Serah associating with NORA, and that Snow was not good enough for her sister. Serah stood her ground for once, reminding her sister that she was of age and could make her own choices – right or wrong – and that Snow was very good to her, protected her, and cared for her, and she wasn't going to stop seeing him.

"I love Snow" Serah said in tears, "and I love you too, you're my sister. Don't try to make me chose between you, because I can't. I want you both in my life." Lightning hated seeing Serah cry. She started to calm herself and tried to calm Serah by saying "Alright, you win, but if he does anything to you, or gets you into trouble – I swear, I WILL kill him!"

"I'd really like it if I could bring him over to meet you properly, you know, so you could get to know him better and he could get to know you better" Serah responded, tears still in her eyes. "Not yet, Serah" Lightning said sternly, "I'm not THAT OK with this yet." The thought of meeting him on peaceable terms irked her. Serah but had won this battle, but had not won the war, yet.

* * *

Today, Snow and Serah were going to the movies to see one of their favorite action-adventure heros in his new release. The theater was in town, so they left early to get the best seats. They had gotten down town a little earlier than what they had anticipated, so they walked through city and wandered in and out of the shops looking at all the new merchandise, just killing some time.

Serah had spotted a man's necklace with an emblem of a cat on it and, since the cat was the symbol NORA had adopted, she thought that would be perfect for her 'Hero'. She purchased it when Snow wasn't watching and tucked it away in her purse. Little did she know that when she was purchasing the necklace, Snow was in another part of the store purchasing cat earrings that he had spotted for Serah, since Serah was also now a member of NORA.

The wide sidewalk had a decorative metal railing that rose up about four feet and curved outward, toward the sidewalk, at the top. Metal hand rails rose up from behind the decorative railing, another couple feet. It made a perfect place to sit, and Snow picked Serah up by her waist and sat her on the decorative railing.

Snow leaned into her with his back facing the sidewalk and, with the additional height of the railing on which Serah was sitting, they were face to face with each other. They were in their own little world, talking, touching each other's face, smiling and laughing. The noise of the bustling little town did not reach their ears, they only heard each other. They were totally oblivious to the outside world around them.

Lightning's regiment was on guard duty this week for the city. She hated guard duty and felt it was a waste of her talent, but every team in the GC had to rotate to pull guard duty. Everyone was assigned sections of the city to patrol with the primary purpose of keeping the peace. She wandered the sidewalks watching for any sign of trouble, bored senseless.

That's when she spotted Snow and Serah, anger rose up inside her immediately at the sight of them so close together, and Snow touching Serah's face. She started to go for her weapon, when a large muscular arm was thrust in front of her and grabbed onto the handrail, blocking her advancement. It was Amador, her commanding officer.

"Now Lieutenant" he started saying "you weren't thinking of causing a ruckus were you?"

Lightning stared at him for a moment and responded "No, sir" as she saluted.

"At ease, Lightning, I'm speaking to you as your friend now" he continued "Look at those two over there," as he lowered his arm, bringing Snow and Serah into her view again, "They're in their own little fantasy world right now, everything is magical and wonderful – that is until the big, bad evil sister comes roaring in and destroys their magical kingdom." Lightning looked at Amador with a confused look on her face, then back at the couple again.

"I've been in that magical kingdom myself, a couple of times, and it's a wonderful feeling" he continued "and you don't want anything or anyone destroying it. Tell me Lightning, is that what you want Serah to remember of you, destroying her Utopia?"

Lightning looked back at Amador and said "No, I don't. It's just he's not good enough for her."

Amador laughed and said "Is any man good enough for her in your eyes?"

Lightning stared at the couple for a moment and responded, "No, I see your point."

"Snow's a good man, and would never hurt Serah." he explained. "Hell, she's probably safer with him than a squad of the GC guarding her" Amador chuckled. "Lightning, let the relationship go where it's going to go…it may end and it may not, but if you break it up, she will always blame you."

Lightning was silent, still staring at the couple and pondering Amador's words.

"Now, if Serah was seeing that guy over there," he gestured towards a scruffy, stocky built man coming out of one of the shops, "I'd give you permission to kick his ass and make up an excuse to put him in lock down for a long time."

Lightning smirked, she knew who he was – all the GC knew who he was. A small time hoodlum and troublemaker, Tai Kane and with him was five of his worthless thug buddies.

Amador was immediately on his communicator, not liking what he saw, alerting others patrolling the vicinity of Tai's location.

"Lieutenant," he told Lightning "I need you to keep an eye on him, but don't make a move on him until I tell you to. We need something good enough that will keep him in lock down for a significant amount of time. He's up to something; he usually doesn't travel with this much company."

Snow and Serah decided it was time to get to the theater, so Snow had just set her back down on her feet, when he heard a voice directly behind him shout "Villiers – I've been looking for you!"

Snow knew that voice, he looked down at Serah and said softly, "stay behind me and don't let him see you, when I turn towards the sidewalk, step back into the crowd", Serah nodded that she understood.

Amador signaled to Lightning to hold her position, while he called in reinforcements. Lightning watched, as Snow slowly turned to Tai, moving to his side to position himself with his back facing the traffic of the sidewalk. Serah followed his every move and stepped directly back into the flow of traffic and disappeared into the crowd. Snow, knowing Serah was safe, now confronted Tai Kane.

"Come for another beat down, Huh?" Snow shouted, punching his fist together. Tai sneered, narrowing his eyes on Snow and declared loudly, " I brought some friends with me this time tough guy, and we're taking you down!"

Snow yelled back, "Bring it on!" as he positioned himself in his fighting stance.

All five of Tai buddies started for Snow, and as quickly as they came at him, Snow landed his fists into them, sending them to the pavement in a crumpled heap, bleeding from the blows. Screams of alarm could be heard from people, as everyone scrambled to get out of the way of the commotion that had just occurred.

A couple of the thugs tried to grab onto Snow, to hold him, but they soon found out that was a mistake as he punched them both, sending them crashing into the buildings. The other three thugs got up and tried again, but Snow sent them flying to the pavement again. None of them were a match for him. Now it was just him and Tai.

"You sure you want to try me again?" Snow mocked, still in his fighting stance. Tai pulled a knife and waved it at Snow shouting "This will even the odds, you son-of-a !" A loud gasp could be heard from the crowd, that had gathered on both sides of sidewalk, at the sight of the knife and everyone moved back as far as they could get.

At that, Amador gave Lightning the signal to move in. She ran in, did a mid-air flip, kicking the knife from Tai's hand and positioned her blade directly at Tai's throat, calmly saying, "Don't move or die, your choice."

He froze in place knowing that blade could take his head off in one single blow. He glared at Lightning, but she glared back with an icy stare, narrowing her eyes on the scum in front of her, causing him to cast his eyes away from her and down to ground.

Tai's buddies, bleeding profusely from their encounter with Snow, were already being arrested by the reinforcements Amador had called in. "Assault with a deadly weapon to start with" Amador was saying to the soldiers arresting Tai Kane. Other soldiers were dispersing the crowd and trying to establish order again.

Amador turned to Snow and asked what the beef was. "I had to throw him out of NORA House one night and told him never to come back – he was picking fights and trying to tear the place up, guess he wanted to get even" Snow responded with his hands resting behind head.

Amador left with the prisoners and Lightning quickly turned her blade on Snow. Snow threw his hands up and hollered "Hey, I'm innocent!"

She narrowed her eyes at Snow and said, "You take care of her, if you ever hurt her, you'll answer to me."

"I LOVE Serah, I would NEVER hurt her, and I would NEVER let any harm come to her, NEVER!," Snow snapped loudly back at Lightning. Lightning sheathed her blade and said "You better not" and walked away to continue on her guard duties.

Serah had witnessed the whole event and came rushing to Snow. He picked her up and swung her around giving her a big kiss.

"Snow, I was so scared for you!" Serah said, with fear in her voice, "but you were so awesome!"

Snow grinned at her and whispered in her ear, "Hey, I told you the Hero always wins!"

She smiled back at him and said, "You truly are my Hero! and you know what? - Lights accepted you!"

"Really?" he said, "Could'a fooled me!"

"She didn't tell you to stay away, she didn't kill you, you're not bleeding, and you still have all your body parts!" Serah happily exclaimed.

Lightning had turned to watch the reunion of the two and watched them dash into the theater, hand in hand. "I still don't like him, but Serah is so happy - if he ever hurts her – I WILL kill him, very slowly" she thought, as she turned and continued on her rounds, still pondering the words that Amador had spoken to her.


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter doesn't seem important now, but will show up in story, in several different ways, as the story progresses. Please don't forget to reveiw..._

* * *

Snow was intrigued by Serah's archery skills she had acquired in school, especially since she had won several local competitions and had placed third in the competition held in Eden. Snow had been to Serah's home frequently, just not when Lightning was there, and Serah had shown him her archery equipment. She had a several bows, most of which she had bought second hand.

"We should go shooting some time" she told him "It would be really fun." Snow pondered the thought and said, "I've never shot one before, don't know how good I would be at it."

"I could teach you to shoot and you don't have to be good at it to have fun with it" Serah explained, "That's why I picked it in school; I never expected to be good at it. Lightning's the one that made me good at it."

Snow smiled at her and declared "Hey, I'm willing to try anything once and, with such a beautiful teacher, how could I not have fun!" Serah giggled, as she embraced him, saying "Do you know that I love you?"

Snow wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and smiling, then responded "I kinda got that feeling that you do. I love you too, baby" giving her a kiss on the head.

It was Sunday, Serah's day off, and Snow and Serah decided to give the archery thing a try today. She was going to meet everyone at NORA House, Lebreau was cooking breakfast for everyone, then the two would head off to the arena from there.

She proceeded to dress herself in her archery garb which consisted of a pair of black spandex type shorts, mid-thigh in length, and a sleeveless matching top which snapped to the waist of the shorts. Her leather breastplate fit over her top and buckled in the back.

She had a pair of Lightning's old half finger gloves, that were black in color, and pulled them over her hands leaving her fingers free. Then she positioned the leather arm guard over her left forearm, which was her bow arm.

Next was the short skirt made of decorative soft leather strips on an elastic waist band, which she pulled into place over the shorts. Lastly, she pulled on a pair of Lightning's old GC boots, which were mostly black in color, and zipped up on the sides.

Grabbing the bows, quivers, and the gear bag, she was ready to head to NORA House to meet up with Snow there. Maqui spotted Serah approaching Nora House and had no idea that Snow and her were going to the Archery Arena today.

He rushed into Nora House, finding Snow and the others on the veranda, and started stammering "Boss, you…you got to hide!"

"What? Why?" Snow asked, with a confused look on his face as he stared at Maqui.

"It's Serah, she's got a bow and she's…she's…she looks different, did you make her mad?" Maqui stuttered out, fearful of Serah's intentions.

"Don't worry, kid, it's OK – Serah and I are going to the Archery Arena today, she's going to teach me to shoot" Snow reassured Maqui, patting him on the back. The others got a laugh out of Maqui's assumption that Serah was coming to shoot Snow. Snow in the meantime had gone out to help Serah with the gear.

When he saw Serah he realized why Maqui was fearful, she looked like a beautiful warrior princess, and he liked it. "Woo Hoo, look at you!" Snow hooted, as he hurried up to her to help, "Wow, baby you look like you could take on the Sanctum all by yourself!"

Serah smiled broadly, feeling quite pleased that he liked her outfit. She then explained, "This is the outfit I wore in competitions, figured I may as well get some more use out of it"

"You scared Maqui half to death, he thought I made you mad and you were coming to get me!" Snow was laughing and Serah busted up laughing "Aw, poor Maqui" she sputtered out between laughs.

As they entered, everyone gave Serah a shout-out at the outfit, making her blush, as she held her hands under her chin and tilted her head down. She then turned to Snow and said, "I brought all the gear you'll need to get started, this is going to be fun!"

Lebreau was almost done with breakfast and Serah walked over and asked if she could help, Lebreau turned and said "No, I'm just waiting on the bacon to get done." At that moment, Lebreau let out a shriek and shouted " Eeeww, there's a spider on the wall!"

Serah calmly said "I'll get it" as she reached into the inside of her boot, pulled a knife and threw it at the spider, pinning it to the wall and killing it instantly.

The room was dead silent, except for the bacon sizzling in the pan. Snow broke the silence exclaiming "OK, That was cool!, good shot! " as he rested his hand on top of his head.

"That was awesome!" Yuj shouted, with Maqui agreeing.

Gadot piped in "Hey Serah, remind me never to piss you off, OK?"

She walked over to the wall, pulled the knife and let the spider drop, picking it up with a paper towel and putting it in the trash.

"How did you learn to do that?" Lebreau asked, still surprised by what she had seen.

Serah explained she hated those creepy things and there was never anyone around to kill them when she was younger. "They started giving me nightmares and one day I just pick up a knife and threw it at one of them big black hairy ones out of frustration. I barely hit it, but I did kill it. Then it was just a matter of practice. I've been killing them that way ever since. Lightning doesn't know about it, she would have killed me, so I've never told her."

Maqui turned to Snow and asked, "Did you know she could do that?" Snow replied, with a grin on his face, "Ya, she told me about it, but this is the first time I've seen her do it, pretty cool, huh?" while ruffling up Maqui's hair. Maqui shook his head in agreement.

Lebreau announced breakfast was ready and everyone dished up and headed for the veranda to eat. It was a very pleasant meal and everyone was talking and laughing, Lebreau was thanked more than once, for all the great food. Snow and Serah decided it was time for them to get going so they gathered up their equipment, taking the Aero Bike to the Archery Arena.

Serah made Snow take his coat off so it didn't get caught in the bow string and positioned the arm guard on his left arm, then showed him how to use the finger tab in his right hand to draw the string. "Watch me", she said while explaining her all her movements to Snow and released the arrow – she hit slightly left of dead center of the bull's-eye.

"You try" she said, as she helped him get into position and load the arrow. "You have to get used to how the equipment feels – you can make adjustments as you shoot more." She went on to explain, "Everyone finds what feels right to them, and then they stick with it. I'm going to teach you instinct shooting, It's the same as throwing a ball; you don't aim the ball, but focus on the target, letting your mind and your eyes do the aiming."

Snow nodded in acknowledgement, then said, "OK, here we go…" Snow pulled the string back to his anchor point as Serah said "Just focus on your target, try to see the smallest center of the target as you can - push everything out of your mind and focus only on your target, then release the arrow."

Snow released the arrow and hit between the inner ring and the bulls-eye of the target. Snow raised his arm in triumph shouting "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Snow, that was fantastic for your first shot!" Serah exclaimed. "It took me a week to even hit the target!"

"Hey," he responded, "that's because I've got a great teacher!" giving her a wink and click with his tongue.

By the end of the day, Snow had hit three bull-eyes and they both had a fantastic time. Serah had shown him some of her knife throwing moves, telling him it was the same aiming technique as the bow and arrow. They decided it was time to go, loading up the Bike; they took off for Serah's home.

Serah opened the door for Snow, since he was carrying all the equipment, "Just set it down here," she pointed at a corner by door, "I'll put it all away later."

Lightning was home, and walked into the living room hearing Serah's voice. "Hi Light" Serah said "you're home early". Snow also put up his hand and said "Hey, how ya doing?" Lightning greeted the two by asking "Went shooting at the Arena today?" as she sat down on the sofa.

"Yep, I'm teaching him to shoot, he did really well for his first time shooting, he hit 3 bulls-eyes today", Serah proudly exclaimed.

"That's because I've got a great teacher!" Snow proclaimed, pointing at Serah and making her smile. Even Lightning had to smile at the comment.

"If you want something to drink, help yourself" Serah said to Snow, while heading upstairs to change, "I'll be down in a minute."

Snow turned to Lightning and asked "Can I grab you something while I'm out there?"

"No, I'm fine," Lightning replied, giving Snow a glancing look. Snow shrugged and headed to kitchen for an energy drink, thinking "Dam she's hardheaded". He leaned against the counter as he popped the top of the can and took a big swig. He was thinking about the fun they had today and how he really liked the sport of archery. "Going to have to do that, again" he thought, as he finished off his drink.

Just then, Serah and Lightning walked into the kitchen and Serah walked up to Snow, putting her arms around him, Snow in turn putting his arm around her.

"Light", Serah said, "We're going to NORA House to get something to eat, why don't you come with us. It's been forever since you've been to the beach, and you could meet some of my other friends."

Lightning could feel her body burn at the sound of NORA, but then thought, "Hell, the leader of NORA is standing in my house with his arm wrapped around my sister, how much worse could it get?"

"OK", Lightning said after a long pause, "but I'm walking – I'm not getting on that bike with him driving – I want to wake up in the morning." "Hey" Snow protested, "I'm a good driver."

Serah ran over to her sister and gave her a big hug, whispering "You've made me very happy" in Lightning's ear. Lightning patted her on the back, and then pulled her away from her. "OK, Serah, that's enough, now" as Serah started to giggle.

"Let's get a move on" Snow said, "I'm starving." Lightning rolled her eyes, as they all started for the door, Snow holding the door for the two women to go first. Snow and Serah got on the bike, Serah waving at Lightning and saying "We'll wait for you, OK?" Lightning waving back at her sister, as she thought, "Hope I'm not going to regret this…."

Sunday's are usually not too busy, and this was the case tonight. Snow and Serah waited at their favorite bench on the beach, Serah sitting in Snow's lap and cuddled up to him, as he teased her with little kisses on her neck. Soon, they spotted Lightning walking towards NORA House and they both stood up as she approached, escorting her into the building.

The muffled sounds of people talking and laughing could be heard, while the smell of food and alcohol fluttered in the air. Lebreau spotted Serah and Snow and shouted "Hey, guys!" as she walked towards them from behind the bar.

They both waved back and walked to the bar to greet her. "Lebreau" Serah said proudly and grinning from ear to ear, "This is my sister, Lightning"

"Well, nice to finally meet you soldier girl, Serah's always talking about you", Lebreau responded, "Can I get you something to drink?"

"How about a beer?" Lightning said, feeling like she could use one right about now.

"I'll get it" Snow said as he rounded the corner behind the bar and grabbed 2 beers, one for himself. "Want a glass?" he asked Lightning – she shook her head "no".

Serah's employers, Jade and Chris came in and everyone greeted them. Serah introduced them to Lightning and they chatted for a short time. They had stopped to have a drink before going home, so Lebreau got them a couple of beers, as the couple sat down at the bar.

Snow found a table in the corner, and as people stopped by the table to say hi, Serah made it a point to introduce them to Lightning. Lightning wasn't used to so much attention and was feeling a little irritated by it all, deciding to get another beer. Snow offered to get it for her, but she said "No, I'll get it" just wanting to be alone for a few minutes.

She went to the end of the bar, since no one was there, and just stood there waiting for Lebreau to come down, thankful for a little solitude. Suddenly she heard a voice from behind say "Can I buy you a drink?" She turned to look at the man that had spoken, narrowed her eyes at him and said "Beat it!" Lightning's stare could send ice water through anyone's veins and the man quickly left.

Lebreau came down and Lightning asked for another beer, the two talked for a while as Lightning started relaxing a little. Gadot had entered and walked up to Lebreau and asked how things were going – Lebreau promptly introduced him to Lightning.

"Nice to meet you on friendlier ground this time" he said, with a smile on his face. "I've never met you before, have I?" Lightning replied, with a surprised look on her face.

"Out at the glade, a while back, I was with Snow and the others – you were pretty pissed off then" he said, still smiling at her. She rolled her eyes and said "Oh, that" feeling a slight flush come to her face.

Gadot and Lightning continued to talk, as Snow and Serah were getting worried why it was taking Lightning so long to return. Snow stood up to inspect the bar and promptly sat down, turning to Serah with a look of shock on his face.

"What?" Serah worriedly asked. Snow picked her up by the waist, then hoisted her up so she could see that Lightning and Gadot were sitting at the end of the bar talking and laughing.

He sat her back down and the two stared at each other in shock. Lightning was actually laughing! Snow finally spoke and said "Leave it to Gadot to get her to laugh!", smiling and shaking his head. "The alcohol might be helping, too", Serah said smiling, as she sipped a little from Snow's beer.

Deciding to leave the two alone, they cleared the table for Lebreau and slipped quietly outside to their favorite bench, secluded from view and overlooking the beach, Serah cuddled up in Snow's lap once again. They watched the sun go down together as they had so many times before from this spot, each time more beautiful than the time before.

Lightning finally noticed that Snow and Serah were nowhere to be found and started to get upset, when Gadot told her, with a smirk on his face, "I know exactly where they are, don't worry. There's a bench outside on the beach they like to sit at and watch the sun go down."

Lightning put her hand to her face, "Good grief" shaking her head from side to side.

"Yep, I know what mean," he chuckled "guess its romantic or something". Lightning chuckled back, still shaking her head from side to side.

"I better get home", she told Gadot, "Got to get an early start in the morning."

"How about letting me tag along, we could talk some more on the way" he asked, in a nonchalant manner. Lightning responded "Sure, if you'd like to."

The two headed for the door, then out onto the beach, Gadot shouted "See ya later boss!" and looked over at Lightning and grinned. "Later" came the response from the darkness.

"Be home soon Serah" Lightning said loudly. "I will Light" a female voice replied, as Lightning and Gadot walked along the beach towards Lightning's home, both chuckling at each other.

"Well, those two seem to hit it off, didn't they?" Snow said as he stroked the side of Serah's face with his fingers.

"I can't believe she's letting him walk her home" Serah softly whispered back in response, as she placed her hands on Snow's chest and ran them up around his neck, drawing herself closer to him and giving him little kisses on his neck. A low groan of pleasure left Snows throat as he tilted his head back to allow her better access to his neck that wanted to feel more of those little kisses of hers.

* * *

Upon arriving at Lightning's home, Gadot leaned his shoulder against a post of the front porch, and said with a smile "I've really enjoyed your company tonight", folding his huge muscular arms in front of him.

"Me too" Lightning responded, as she glanced behind her to glimpse at Gadot leaning there. She turned forward, dropping her head to gaze towards the ground, thinking how handsome he looked standing there, and then turned to face him. Without saying a word, she walked up to him and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

He grinned, as she quickly retreated, and he softly said, "Now that's not fair, I get a kiss and you don't" as he leaned down to her cheek, brushing his face against hers, and gave her a kiss on the side of her cheek close to her ear. He withdrew himself quite slowly, touching his skin against hers and stopping to pause in front of her face.

She raised her hand and slipped it around the back of his neck, he responded by slipping his hand onto the side of her face and neck, resting his thumb in front of her ear. He slowly leaned into her and pressed his lips gently against hers. As their tongues met, she steadied herself into his strong hand that gently supported her head.

Her highly honed senses she used to her advantage in battles, were now betraying her, as she could hear his breath in her ears; she could feel the warmth of his body close to her, and the touch of his lips on hers. A tingling sensation quickly spread throughout her body with a flash of warmth that followed, as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the growing sensations that were flowing in all directions within her and made her slightly quiver.

As the kiss came to an end, Gadot softly said to her, "For whatever its worth, I think you are a very strong and beautiful woman. If you ever want someone to talk to, I'll be around." Lightning looked up at him and smiled, knowing he was allowing her to have her space, but at the same time was expressing his desire to see her again.

As she walked to the door and opened it slightly, she turned and said "For what it's worth, I'm off on Thursday, if you would like to drop by". Gadot nodded in agreement saying "Sounds good to me."

As he turned to leave, Lightning called to him "Gadot, don't tell Snow."

He grinned "I had no intentions in telling him anything, it'll drive him crazy." They both laughed at the thought and waved goodbye to one another as Lightning entered the house.

She dressed and got into bed, thinking about the events of the day and, for once, was looking forward to her day off. "He is very handsome" she thought "so muscular and that light tawny colored skin." As she closed her eyes, she thought of the kiss and these new sensations she had felt, trying to decide if she liked it or not. She heard the sound of the door opening, then could hear Serah and Snow talking to each other. "Good, Serah's home" she thought as she drifted off into sleep.

Serah and Snow searched the downstairs, and neither Gadot nor Lightning were anywhere to be found. "That's odd" Serah said "We didn't pass Gadot on the way here; I thought he would be here."

Maybe they went somewhere else", Snow suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'll go upstairs and see if Light is here" she said, as she started up the stairs. Snow watched her, and thinking to himself "sure hope she doesn't walk in on something" nervously resting his hands on his head. Soon, she returned and announced that Lightning was asleep. "Whew! what a relief" he thought "that could've been really bad."

Snow spent the next few days trying to pry out information from Gadot about the events of that evening, but got nowhere with him. "How did you get her to laugh?" Snow would ask.

"I just told her some stories" Gadot would answer, being as vague as possible with his answers. Serah was just as unsuccessful with her sister, wanting to know everything that happened. "Nothing happened, Serah" she would say "he just accompanied me home for the conversation. Now let it go."


	5. Chapter 5

_ Lightning hates guard duty and you'll soon find out why... This chapter is shorter than I intended, but 'oh, well'. Thanks for reading and please review and let me know what you think. _

* * *

Snow and Serah were always looking for little adventures, taking the Aero Bike out looking for intriguing places to explore. The outlying country was so beautiful, and Snow would make sure there were no monsters in the vicinity before he set the Bike down, then walking around to investigate the terrain and the flora.

Serah loved these little outings, as she had never seen any of the outlying countryside. She always made sandwiches and brought drinks, spreading a blanket to sit on, to enjoy their meal. Snow looked forward to being away from everything for a while for the peace and solitude and, of course, being alone with Serah. They could share their feelings and thoughts that neither one had shared with anyone else before.

Sometimes they brought the archery equipment and practiced shooting targets. Snow was getting quite good at it, hitting his targets most of the time. Serah would sit and watch Snow shoot and think about how happy she was when they were together.

It was their anniversary, and they took off on one of their adventures out in the countryside. They decided on a high cliff that overlooked the water and they could see all of Bodhum from there. After walking around for a time exploring the area, they spread the blanket and sat down. Serah started unpacking the food and drinks and one extra item – an anniversary gift for Snow.

"I brought something extra for you, this time" she announced, as she held out her hand with a small box wrapped in blue paper and bow.

Snow looked at her and grinned,"Now, what's this for?"

"Because I love you", she declared, tilting her head to one side and smiling a mischievous grin "you are my Hero after all."

He accepted the gift and promptly pulled out a small box wrapped in pink paper and a bow from his coat, presenting it to Serah. "This is for the love of my life" he whispered in her ear, kissing her on her cheek.

Snow made Serah unwrap hers first, revealing the earrings he had purchased for her in town. "Oh Snow, they're beautiful!" she gasped, as she started putting them on. "They look great on you, baby!" he said, as he reached out and touched them dangling from her ears.

"OK, now you" she said, excited at the anticipation, hoping he would like it.

Snow unwrapped the gift, "Serah, this is perfect!" he exclaimed, as he slipped the necklace over his head, making sure the emblem of NORA faced outward. "How does it look?" he asked, and Serah responded with a grin, leaning closely into Snow's face, she whispered "Sexy and bad-ass."

He smiled at her, as he raised his hand and slipped the pony tail holder from her hair. She shook her head to distribute her strawberry-blond hair, and Snow ran his hands through her soft silky curls. "You are so beautiful" he said as he held her head gently in his hands, kissing her softly while lying her down on the blanket. She wrapped her arms around Snow's neck as she closed her eyes, accepting his warm, wonderful kisses.

* * *

The Traveling Fair & Carnival was in town for the weekend, setting up operations in its usual place in Bodhum Park. There were booths of food to sample, games to play, and merchandise to purchase, along with rides for the young and old alike. It was a welcome distraction for most of the residents, but a pain in neck for others. For Lightning, it was a pain in the neck - she hated it. For her, it only meant more guard duty and wrestling with drunks all night.

Luckily this year, her unit was only stuck for one day with guard duty, starting at noon and ending at midnight on Friday, and then would have the next two days off.

"Hey, sleepy head!" Serah yelled at her sister, "You're going to be late for work!" Lightning slightly opened one eye to look at the time, then realized she forgot to tell Serah about the change in the schedule.

"Not today" Lightning yelled back, as she rolled over to go back to sleep. She could hear Serah's footsteps coming up the stairs and thought "Good grief, I just want to sleep".

"Light" Serah said softly "What time do you go in today?"

"Noon" Lightning mumbled back from under the blankets.

"Ok" I'll shut your door so I don't wake you." as she quietly closed the door to Lightning's room.

Serah watched for Snow through the front window, greeting him outside when she saw him approaching, with a big hug and kiss.

"Lights still asleep" Serah warned him, "She doesn't go to work until noon and we don't want to wake her. She's a beast if she gets woken for no reason."

"No worries" Snow replied, as Serah took his hand and they entered the house.

Snow loved Serah's cooking and he never missed an opportunity to enjoy one of her meals.

"Grab some coffee" she said "it's a fresh pot. I'll dish us up some food." He poured them both a cup of coffee and put them on the table, then Serah brought over the plates with the omelets stuffed with mushrooms, green chilies, and chives covered in melted cheese; with three slices of bacon and toast on the side. "I hope you like it" she said, as she pulled up her chair to sit down next to him.

"Thanks, baby" he responded "I'm sure I will!" and leaned over to her and gave her a kiss. He took a bite of the omelet and it melted in his mouth, "Wow, this is delicious, Serah!" he told her "You are such a great cook!" She smiled at him and was so pleased he was enjoying his meal.

"So, do you want to go to the fair after work?" Snow asked her. "Sure, it will be fun." she responded, "I like looking at all the booths they have, and hanging out with our friends"

"OK, then" he said with grin, "I'll meet you at the Inn, after your shift, and we'll check out the fair." giving her a wink, as he finished his breakfast.

Lightning finally woke up and wandered downstairs to find a fresh pot of coffee waiting, and an omelet with re-heating instructions that Serah had left for her. Pouring herself some coffee, she glanced at the time, "Ugh – 9:30" she thought, grabbing the newspaper and heading to the veranda. She sat in her favorite spot, sipping her coffee and reading the paper, slowly starting to wake up enough to start preparing for her dreaded day at work.

The first couple of hours were uneventful, but she combined her duties with looking at all the booths and sampling some of the food, so the time went quickly. She walked past a woman holding a small child, fussing and crying in her arms, when something suddenly hit the back of her head.

Reaching to the back of her head, she discovered the child had hit her with his cotton candy, that was now ensnarled in her hair. "Oh, good grief!" she yelled, as she tried to remove the glob of sticky substance from her hair. The woman apologized repeatedly and was trying to help Lightning remove all the cotton candy, but Lightning shooed her away. "Great" she thought "Now I can spend the rest of this rotten night with sticky, gooey hair."

A short time later she heard someone calling her, "Light, over here" as she turned to see Serah waving at her from one of the round outside tables that had been set up in the park. She started towards the table, recognizing some of the people sitting there – Snow, of course, Lebreau, Jade and Chris were there, but there were a couple of kids she didn't know.

"Light, I don't think you ever met Yuj and Maqui" Serah said, as she noticed her sister's hair was sticking together in clumps. "What happened to your hair?" Serah asked.

As Lightning explained she pointed to Snow and said "One word, and you're dead!"

Snow put up his hands "Nothing from me!" he said, but sported a smirky grin that made Lightning want to hit him.

"Maqui!" Lebreau yelled "What the hell are you doing?"

"Serah said she carries a gunblade, I just wanted to see it" he innocently responded, and then realized Lebreau thought he was trying to check Lightning out. He turned three shades of red and folded his arms in front of him, slumping back into his chair. The others were trying to keep from laughing, Lightning just rolled her eyes and thought "This night is never going to end."

"Come here, kid" she said to Maqui, as she unsheathed her weapon for him.

"Wow," he said to her, "I've heard about these, but I've never seen one up close before."

Then with a twist of her wrist she switched it from the gun to the blade.

"Awesome!" Maqui exclaimed.

She quickly twisted her wrist and switched it back to the gun, then sheathed the weapon away. "Next time, just ask, its less embarrassing" she told Maqui and he nodded his head in agreement.

"Gotta get back," Lightning said quickly, folding her arms in front of her and turning to leave. "See you later, Light!" Serah called to her sister and Lightning raised her arm to bid them farewell.

She walked around the fairgrounds, watching for trouble, as time just seemed to drag on and on. Rounding a corner at one of the booths, a shot of cold, icy liquid smacked her in the chest, ran down her uniform, then dribbled onto her legs.

She gasped and threw up her hands, then looked up to see two boys staring at her in shock. "We're sorry, it was an accident, we didn't mean to do it" one said "we were just playing and the drink went flying."

"Get out of my sight!" she yelled back at them and they took off running as fast as they could.

Lightning borrowed a towel from the booth keeper and tried to extract as much of the cola as she could from her uniform and legs. "Good grief, I'm sticky from head to foot, I'm never going to survive this crappy night" she thought. As she gave the towel back to the booth keeper, she heard people start to scream a short distance in front of her, so she took off running towards the sounds.

A fight had broken out between two men and she rushed in to stop it, as she yelled, "Enough!" at the two. One of the men turned on her to land a punch, but she quickly kicked her leg up and rotated her body and brought the man down with the blow of her foot to his jaw. He was out cold, as several other soldiers had rushed in and secured the other man, taking them both to lockdown for the night.

"Hey, Farron, what happened to you?" one of the soldiers asked.

"Don't ask, long story" she replied, folding her arms in front of her and noticing that dirt was collecting on the sticky parts of her uniform.

The night wore on and it didn't get any better, she had stepped in gum, ice cream had fallen on her boots and a Chocobo feather had stuck to the cotton candy in her hair.

She was involved in breaking up a half a dozen more fights and getting splashed with beer for her efforts.

Finally, she was on her way home "This has been the most miserable guard duty I've ever had to pull" she thought, "All I want is a hot shower and a bed." Opening the door to the house, Serah and Snow where standing in the living room, hugging each other 'good night'.

"Dam" she thought "I didn't think he would still be here!"

"Light!" Serah exclaimed, as she put her hands on the sides of her face, "What happened to you?"

Lightning pulled her weapon and pointed it at Snow, and started explaining "Cotton candy, popcorn and a Chocobo feather", pointing at her hair, "cola and beer" pointing at her uniform, "Ice cream and gum," and with that, Snow ran for the back veranda to escape, as he couldn't contain his laughter any longer, yelling "Night, baby!" between his outbursts of laughter.

"Oh, poor Light!" Serah giggled at her.

"Save it, Serah" Lightning said in an irritated tone, "Don't wake me up in the morning, I've got two days off."

"OK" Serah responded, grinning at her sister.

Lightning put away her gunblade and walked upstairs for a long awaited shower and a nice warm bed.


	6. Chapter 6

_This chapter will lead up to the Purge... Please review - Thanks for reading..._

* * *

Snow met Serah after work and had a flyer he wanted to show her. "Can you throw a hatchet?" he asked, as he showed her the flyer.

"I don't know" she responded, thinking what an odd question that was, "I've never tried a hatchet." The flyer was announcing a hatchet throwing contest that would take place at the fair later that afternoon. The top prize was a thousand gil, followed by seven hundred and fifty, and then five hundred.

"Wow! A thousand gil" she exclaimed "That would be nice to win!"

"Let's go find Maqui and see if he has a hatchet." Snow replied, as Serah nodded in agreement. They rushed to NORA House and found Maqui working in the garage on one of his projects.

"Hey, kid" Snow asked "Do you have a hatchet?" Maqui walked over to his workbench and picked up three hatchets, displaying them to Snow.

"What's up with the hatchets?" Maqui asked, as he handed them to Snow.

"Serah wants to see if she can throw them" Snow explained, and handed the flyer to Maqui. After Maqui read the flyer, he looked at Snow with a smile on his face, and simply said "Sweet!"

Snow handed one of the hatchets to Serah, and she started handling it to get a feel of its weight and size. After a few minutes she threw it at a tree and it stuck, as she took another one from Snow and tried again, with the same results.

Snow yelled "Great job!" Serah started giggling at Snow's excitement, then said "I need a target to see if I can hit it."

They found some cardboard and drew a big red dot in the center and hung it on the tree. Maqui measured off the distance of 30 feet, matching what the flyer stated, and Serah started practicing. The more she threw the better she got and had hit the dot 5 out of 6 times.

"What do you think? Should we give it a try?" she asked Snow.

"You know it, baby! You're going to win!" he exclaimed.

"OK, let's do it!" she proclaimed, returning to practice throwing the hatchet. Gadot walked up to them and asked, what was going on; Snow promptly filled him in on what they were planning.

"Man, you like living dangerously, don't you" Gadot chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Snow asked.

"Her sister finds out about this, you're mincemeat!" he responded, still chuckling.

"Humph!" Snow smirked back. "I'd be mincemeat if she found out about a lot things" Snow thought to himself, as a smile came to his face.

"Should we get going, the contest starts in an hour?" Serah asked, walking up to Snow and Gadot.

"Yeah, you coming?" he asked Gadot. "Wouldn't miss it! "Gadot said, and Maque replied "I'm coming, too!"

Arriving at the fair, they found the contest booth and Serah signed herself up. "You're the only woman in the contest" the man in the booth told her, "Good Luck to you, miss, hope you win!"

"Oh, Snow" she said, looking at him, "I'm so excited, I hope I can do this."

"Just relax, you'll do fine, we're all here for you" Snow told her, as he gave her a reassuring hug.

They started calling for the contestants and Snow gave her a kiss and hug, then said "Give em hell, baby!"

She smiled and took in a big breath; "Here we go" trotting off to join the other contestants.

The rules were simple, if the hatchet didn't stick, you would be eliminated, along with the one who's shot was the furthest from the target. The first round eliminated five of the fifteen contestants and Serah was not one of them. The spectators were clapping and cheering for their favorite contestants. Snow, Gadot and Maqui all shouted words of encouragement to Serah, as the second round started. This round eliminated four more contestants and Serah's throws had been spot on. The crowd shouted and clapped as the six contestants waited for the next round.

They were finally down to three contestants, Serah, a tall burly man with light brown hair, and a shorter, more slender man with blond curly hair. The spectators were excited to find out who would win first place, and Serah seemed to be the favorite of the crowd. As she stepped forward to make her throw, the cheers from the crowd resounded.

The spectators became silent as she drew back the hatchet and threw – the crowd roared with cheers, and Snow hollered "Oh, Yeah!", as Serah had hit dead center on the target. Measurements were taken and it was announced that she had indeed hit dead center.

The tall burly man made his throw and had also appeared to have made a dead center shot, however, when measurements were taken, he had missed dead center by an eighth of an inch. He was obviously angry by the call and stood with his hands folded in front of him, staring at the ground. The last contestant made his throw and missed dead center by three fours of an inch.

As the three were presented their prize money, the tall burly man started complaining that he got cheated, then poked Serah on front of her shoulder with his finger saying she shouldn't have won. Snow came out of the crowd and was in the man's face before he could say another word.

"Try that on me!" Snow yelled in the man's face, as he clinched his fists in front of him, "Come on, I'll take you down!" The man immediately apologized to Serah and Snow, and then disappeared quickly into the crowd with his second place prize.

"Are you alright, Serah?" Snow asked, holding her close to him, still angry at the man for touching her that way.

"Of course I am," she warmly said "My hero was here to protect me!" hugging Snow tightly and smiling. "We won, Snow! I can't believe it, we won!" she said excitedly. People were stopping and congratulating her on the win, Snow was so proud of her he could have burst.

Gadot and Maqui both told her what a good job she had done.

"That was so cool, Serah!" Maqui excitedly told her, as they started walking back to the beach, then tripped and fell to ground.

"Dam, kid" Gadot spouted off, "watch it, will yah?" Maqui nodded, as he got back up on his feet and continued to walk home with his friends.

Arriving at NORA House, they retold the events of the day to Lebreau and Yuj, and they were elated that Serah had won. The place was packed and Lebreau was relieved that they had hired the extra help for the weekend.

Gadot had slipped out when no one was watching and Maqui had gone back to his projects in the garage. Yuj returned to socializing with some of the female customers that had recently arrived.

"Do you need us help out?" Snow asked Lebreau.

"Nah, the Guardian Corps are everywhere if any trouble breaks out" Lebreau said "and I still have my gun behind the bar. Besides, I heard that your favorite band is playing at the fair tonight"

"JADED is playing?" Snow asked enthusiastically, as he looked at Serah.

"Yep, from nine to midnight" Lebreau told the couple, smiling. She knew they both loved this band and had never seen them live.

"Snow, we should go!" Serah said, bouncing on her toes, and her hands clasped under her chin, "We can celebrate our win today!"

"OK, Then!" Snow said, smiling at Serah, "Let's get a move on!"

Upon arriving, they got something to eat then headed to the outdoor arena where the band would be playing. There were people everywhere waiting for the band to start, soon the crowd starting cheering as the band came out on stage.

For the next couple of hours Snow and Serah danced to the music, ate, drank, and socialized. During the last hour, they found a secluded place where they could still hear the music, and spent some time alone in each other's arms.

* * *

Bodhum was bustling with tourists, as they were arriving daily in anticipation of the upcoming annual fireworks display that were only weeks away. The lodging establishments were all fully booked in advance, so this year's event was going to be busy one.

Snow and Gadot were busy stocking supplies, and had hired extra help to assist Lebreau with the cooking and bartending duties. Serah had taken on more hours at the Inn to help cover the breakfast crowd and Lightning was assigned to training new recruits to assist with guard duty for the town.

Snow and Serah always found some time for themselves at night to enjoy each other's company and exchange stories of the day's events. They began walking slowly along the beach, her arm was around his waist and had his arm was around her shoulder, both feeling content to be in each other's company on such a beautiful evening.

"Light's birthday is coming up, she'll be turning 21," she shared with Snow one evening, "perhaps we can go shopping tomorrow and find her a present.

"Sure we can, Gadot can handle things at NORA House for a while. He's disappeared on me a few times, now it's my turn" Snow replied, smiling at Serah and stroking her face with his hand.

They had been to a lot of shops, searching for a gift for Lightning, and nothing had struck them as being an appropriate gift for her. They came across a sporting goods shop and decided to go in. The archery equipment interested them both and Serah was explaining to Snow the differences in the bows and their uses.

The memory of her in her archery garb flashed into Snow's head and he leaned down and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle and blush. "You're bad" she said to him, still giggling. "Not me!" he said as he grinned a mischievous grin and stroking her arm.

"Yes, you are!" she teased him and pinched his belly, which made them both laugh at each other.

They continued through the shop and came upon the knives, Serah spotted the perfect gift for Lightning. It was a survival knife with a retractable blade that she could use on her missions. Snow agreed it would be perfect for her, so they purchased the knife, then left the shop heading back to the beach as quickly as possible to get away from crowds.

The news of an accident at the power facility was circulating and was a topic of conversation among the inhabitants of Bodhum and visitors alike. PSICOM troops were brought in to guard the facility and Sanctum personnel were also arriving.

Rumors and speculation were also starting within the Guardian Corps that something more serious than an accident had occurred as they would not bring PSICOM troops for a mere accident.

* * *

Everyone was anticipating tonight's fireworks, people crowded the beach fronts enjoying the water and lounging in the sand. The shops and sidewalks were bustling with tourists trying to purchase last minute souvenirs to take home with them.

All members of the Guardian Corps were assigned to guard duty and their presence was seen everywhere insuring the peace. NORA was actively watching and listening for signs of trouble, as Snow and Gadot were trying to gather as much information as possible on the presence of PSICOM troops in the area.

Snow's activities that day had made him late in meeting Serah at NORA House and she had already left by the time he arrived. Lebreau shouted across the room to him that she would meet him at the "usual place", he acknowledged her with a nod and, nervously touching his fists together, muttered to himself "Here we go", heading to a secluded spot that the two spent a lot of time.

The fireworks had already started and Serah was hanging onto the handrails with her eyes shut, making a wish.

"Making a wish?" Snow said as walked up to Serah, startling her. She opened her eyes and looked up at Snow and nodded, saying "Yes" He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, as the two watched the fireworks, then made a wish of his own.

"I bought us something" he said softly, as he slid his arms from Serah and reached into his coat to reveal two necklaces of Cocoon, with a ring setting on top of the orb and a diminishing spiral extending from the bottom of the orb. "I wanted to give you all of Cocoon" he said, as he presented them to her.

Serah took one and put it on, and before she could speak, Snow was one knee with his hand on his heart and spoke, "Serah, my one, my only, will you marry me?" then he dropped his head to hear the response.

Tears came to Serah's eyes as she clasped her hands under her chin, she could barely speak as she was nodding her head in agreement, and finally pushed the words from her mouth, "Yes!, Yes!"

Snow jumped to his feet and into the air in excitement, raising his fist in the air, and yelling "She said yes!" He rushed to her and picked her up and twirled her around and around, still yelling "She said yes!" over and over. Serah was laughing and giggling as she was overjoyed with the prospect of sharing the rest of her life with Snow.

"I love you so much; I can't imagine my life without you in it" he softly whispered to her.

"Snow" she softly responded, "I love you more than you'll ever know".

He kissed her with all the passion felt for her, then said "I have another surprise for you," as he led her to where he had the cruiser parked.

He got onto the cruiser, with his bride to be sitting in front of him, and they took off towards the fireworks to observe them from the sky. They were in awe at the spectacle, and Snow asked what she had wished for. She replied as she smiled "To be as happy in future as she was right now" touching her hand to the necklace.

"I made a wish too" Snow admitted, lovingly looking at Serah "I wished you would say yes."

"When should we tell Light?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Tomorrow" he said, then started grinning at Serah, "She'll be my sister", as the idea had just occurred to him. "Ohhhhh, I can't wait to see the look on her face!" he smirked.

Snow flew through the protective barrier to get closer to the fireworks. Serah marveled at being so close to the fireworks as they burst all around them. He had become distracted as they attempted a kiss and was almost hit by one of the fireworks. He quickly avoided it, and flew back through the protective barrier and said, a little shaken, "That was close!" Serah starting laughing and he joined in, laughing at himself.

They continued watching the fireworks and Serah remarked "So beautiful, it's like our own private heaven."

"It's all we ever need, just you and me" Snow added, gazing at the splendor in front of them. They looked at one another and shared a long passionate kiss before taking off into the night to one of their special places that they shared.

* * *

It was Lightning's birthday today, and Serah was home preparing the food for this afternoon's celebration. She wanted everything to be perfect, and was hoping her sister would not disapprove of her engagement to Snow. He would arrive later and they could all celebrate together – both Lightning's birthday and their engagement.

Amador had relieved Lightning from her duties early last night and she was wondering if it had anything to do with the increasing amount of PSICOM soldiers appearing in the town. Amador had hinted that she shouldn't ask too many questions as it could get her into trouble. It had her on edge as to what was going on, but she felt it was significant to have the Sanctum involved.

Snow was increasingly concerned at the site of more PSICOM activity going on in town, finding out the accident at the power facility was not an accident, but was an act of sabotage. Rumors were abundant and varied in speculation, but no one seemed to have a decisive answer as to who caused the explosion.

Snow caught up to Gadot, relaying the information, and wanted to make sure NORA was on alert of the trouble he felt would be coming. The Sanctum would extract punishment from someone, whether guilty or not, if for no other reason than to make themselves look good to the public.

Serah had everything ready for Lightning's party and was awaiting the guest of honor and Snow. Snow showed up first, and then Lightning shortly thereafter and they began their celebration. There were a few presents on the counter for Lightning, one from Amador, one from Serah and Snow, and one with no name on it.

"Who is this one from?" Serah asked of Lightning. Lightning looked over at the gift and replied "Just a friend of mine, Serah."

Snow was busting wanting to announce their engagement, but had agreed to wait to celebrate Lightning's birthday first.

They all enjoyed the meal; the food was very appetizing since Serah was such a good cook. They made the traditional toast of wine to Lightning, wishing her a happy birthday. Serah wanted Lightning to open her presents, but she declined, wishing to open them later. Serah and Snow decided that now would be a good time to announce their engagement.

"Light", Serah said nervously, "Snow and I have something to tell you", as she looked over at Snow. "Snow proposed to me last night and I accepted. We're engaged to be married" she said happily, but apprehensive of the reaction they were going to get from her.

Lightning almost choked on her drink, spitting and coughing to clear her passageway so she could speak. Snow grinned from ear to ear at her reaction, and Serah was patting her on the back trying to assist her.

Finally she was able to speak, and shouted "Are you two out of your minds!" with a look of disbelief on her face. "Serah, you're supposed to go to the University, what about that?"

"Just because I'm engaged doesn't mean I can't go, if I want to. Snow and I have just made a commitment to each other. Please be happy for us, Light." Serah responded trying to reassure her sister and gain her approval.

"Tch" was all Lightning could get out and turned, leaving the room. Snow looked at Serah, still grinning, said "Well, she took that well, didn't she?" as he clasped his hands behind his head.

"At least she didn't try to kill you, I'm thankful for that." Serah said smiling at Snow as she put her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly and he hugged her back chuckling.

The two cleaned up the dishes and put things away for Lightning so she wouldn't have to clean anything on her birthday. The two left the house bidding farewell to Lightning, but there was no response from the other room.

After the two left, Lightning turned on the visual display to catch up on any news and to distract her from thinking about the engagement announcement she had just heard. She wandered over to the presents and began opening them.

Amador's gift was a fancy bottle of imported Brandy, well known for after dinner sipping and she decided this was going to be hid in her room. The one from her mysterious friend was a clear crystal vase with a single crystal red rose placed in it. The note inside read, "This reminded me of you – Beauty and Strength combined into one." She smiled at the gift and placed it in a special place on the shelf, in the living room.

Lastly, she opened Snow and Serah's gift and saw the survival knife gleaming from its box. She picked it up and flipped open the blade and murmured to herself "How practical." She immediately attached it to her uniform belt and admired how it glistened from there.

A broadcast came over the visual display declaring that a Pulse fal'Cie had been discovered in the old vestige located on the outskirts of the town and was going to be relocated to Pulse. The city was being sealed off and no one was allowed to leave until further notice. Lightning instantly knew why all PSICOM troops had arrived in the city and knew this was not going to end well.

Snow and Serah reached NORA House and Serah needed to go on to the Bodhum Inn to pick-up her earnings. She trotted in front of Snow, saying it would only take a few minutes and she would meet him back at there. He stood and watched her proceed down the beach for a while, then proceeded towards his destination.

Upon entering, the group pulled him over to the visual display to hear the news bulletin. "The Purge Orders have been signed, no one was allowed to enter or leave Bodhum." The entire town was going to be purged to the underworld. The Purge had begun by Sanctum orders.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Purge

_This is my interpretation of the events of Purge, some follow the game, some don't... Thanks for reading - Please leave a review..._

* * *

The video display suddenly went to static as the signal had obviously been cut in the middle of the broadcast. Snow grabbed the communicator and it was also just static and useless.

"Maqui, get us hooked into the military network, it should be still be working" Snow said hurriedly, "Gadot, get everyone out to the cruiser and load up every weapon we have. When Maqui gets us into the military network, start contacting anyone you can to find out what's happening. I've gotta go find Serah."

Snow ran out onto the beach and towards the Bodhum Inn yelling for Serah while he searched the area, but received no response. There was no sign of her as the beach front was deserted and there were no clues to be found as to her disappearance. Dismayed and frustrated at his failure to locate her, he ran back to NORA House, punching his fist together in front of him, to find everyone busily loading the cruiser or trying to contact anyone on the communicators.

"I can't find Serah" he announced as his voice wavered "something has happened to her." Everyone saw the worry that was written all over his face. Snow was blaming himself for her disappearance "Dammit, why did I let her go alone? I should have been with her" he thought as he slammed his fist into his hand.

Gadot had found out bits of information by ease dropping into conversations on the Sanctums network. "They're purging the entire town of Bodhum," Gadot solemnly told Snow, "PSICOM is transporting them to the Hanging Edge by train, before this they were to put everyone in the vestige and then just transport the vestige."

Snow was able to contact an informant of his and found out he was being held in the vestige itself. He informed Snow that he had been rounded up with about 25 others and transported to the vestige site.

"Orders came thru that everyone was to be put on the train, but the soldiers didn't want to bother transporting us again, so they forced us in here" he relayed as the signal started going in and out. "Snow" he said with sadness in his voice, "There's a woman in here that I've seen you with several times, she has a pony tail (fade) left side (fading to static)" as the signal was lost.

Snow wavered on his feet, almost toppling over – Serah was being held in the vestige that was being moved to the restricted area of the Hanging Edge. "I've got to get her out of there before its purged to Pulse" he thought frantically "Lightning, I've got to contact Lightning."

Snow rushed to the cruiser where the others were, sharing the information they had collected with each other. The weapons and ammo were all loaded, so they decided they'd better leave before they were caught in the military's net.

"We have to go to Lightning's house first," Snow declared, "I've gotta let her know what has happened to Serah."

Pounding on Lightning's door, Snow yelled for her to let him in, "Lightning, it's important, open the door!" She finally opened the door and Snow told her everything that had happened up to that point. Her face went white in shock, then her eyes narrowed saying, "I'm going after her."

"I'm going after her too, Sis – we'll bring her home." Snow said, with his right fist clutched in front of him and concern in his voice.

"I'm not your sister!" Lightning retorted "Just stay out of my way." then slammed the door on Snow. Shaking his head, he thought "dam hardheaded woman" as he ran back to the cruiser.

"I'm going after Serah and try to get as many people out as I can," Snow started saying in a serious voice, "You guys need to get out of Bodhum, before PSICOM puts you on that train. If I can get Serah out of there, we'll meet up with you later."

"Well," Gadot said while holding his weapon towards the sky "you're not leaving me out of all the glory, Hero. I'm with you." The rest of the team agreed – they were going with Snow and Gadot. "OK, then - here we go!" Snow yelled, as they took off on the cruiser heading for the restricted zone of the Hanging Edge.

Lightning decided she had to get on that Purge train to get to Serah before the vestige was out of her reach. She checked her graviton devices to make sure they were charged, checked her gunblade and started off to the train with fury and determination in her heart.

No one was getting in her way, not this time; she would kill anyone trying to stop her. She stood in line to enter the train when a PSICOM soldier came up to her and whispered to her that military personnel were exempt from the Purge.

"I quit!" she shouted as she handed over her beloved gunblade. The man standing behind her, dressed in a pilot's uniform, decided he was sticking with her, "she's got an agenda," he thought, "and I want to find out what it is."

* * *

NORA had reached the restricted area of The Hanging Edge before the train and the vestige, avoiding the military troops and the barricades, as Maqui continued to tap into the communications and the data banks of PSICOM without being detected. Thanks to all the discarded equipment Snow had continually supplied him, he was able to build many little gadgets that allowed them access to information that would have been otherwise out of their reach.

They sabotaged the force field to the train entrance so it would not turn off, jolting the train and slowing it down when it was hit. Avoiding the small amount of troops already there, the maps displayed where the largest concentration of troops would be stationed, so they sabotaged these platforms in an attempt to reduce the number of PSICOM troops and weapons as possible. They also established several escape routes for the deportees to use and get as many of them to safety as possible.

Airships started arriving, in advance of the train, carrying troops and weapons, landing on the sabotaged platforms precisely to the plans that Maqui had acquired. "OK, Maqui" Snow said in a low voice, "when the first explosions go off, start jamming their communications, we don't want them communicating for as long as possible."

Maqui shook his head that he understood, just as the first platform exploded with an echoing boom, shooting fire and debris in every direction, and sending troops, airships and weapons into the darkness below. One platform after another exploded and chaos ensued within the ranks of the PCICOM troops as they realized they had been sabotaged.

At that moment, the train came roaring through and hit the force field that failed to shut down, jolting the train, decoupling the last six cars of deportees and bringing them to a slowing halt. The first part of the train kept moving and Lightning flew into action, taking out the guard and smashing the device that controlled the prison robes confining them.

Everyone scrambled to their feet, some sought to get off the moving train, some taking up the fight against the guards. She clicked on her graviton energy, which allowed her to maneuver in midair for a short time and, gun in hand, took out the rest of the guards.

The deportees from the uncoupled cars were running in all directions to seek safety. Some had already made it to the NORA team and had taken up arms to fight. Others followed the escape routes to get out as quickly as possible before the troops had a chance to seal them off and doom their fate.

Lightning, now with her gunblade in hand, peered out of the train car and narrowed her eyes on an airship zeroing in on the train. "Give me that" she yelled as she grabbed a missile launcher from someone and zeroed in on the airship and took it out.

The sounds of gunfire, explosions, and twisting metal could be heard within the confines of the area and the smell of smoke dominated the air – the battle for freedom and Serah had begun.

Maqui was gathering up as many guns as possible from downed soldiers to supplement their supply of weapons, then tripped and fell to ground, scattering the guns in every direction.

"Careful with those!" Snow snapped, as Maqui looked up at Snow and nodded his head, gathering up the guns.

The team approached some deportees that had gotten cut off from the escape routes. Snow started to explain to them that they would clear a path for them, when one man jumped up and said he wanted to fight. Others also rose to their feet, saying they also wanted to fight, so the team started handing out the extra supply of guns and began showing them how to use them.

One woman, sitting next to her teenage son, leaned over and picked up a gun, then rose to her feet. "Mom?" the boy questioned. She looked at him and said "It'll be OK" as she walked to join the resistance group.

Snow looked at her and asked "Are you sure?" She nodded in agreement adding "Moms are tough."

He nodded and said "OK, then", just as Gadot shouted "New recruits with me!" The woman started walking off behind Snow, turning to her son to give him a reassuring nod with her head, before turning back and leaving him alone to find his way to safety.

They had fought their way through and had opened the path for the remaining deportees to proceed, but a large airship had appeared above them. This was one of the bigger warships and was preparing to strike.

"Snow, we got trouble!" Gadot yelled.

"No kidding" Snow replied under his breath, as he looked around and spotted a missile launcher a few yards in front of him. He made a leap for it, but missed, coming up flat on his back and fully exposed to the wrath of the warship. As it prepared to fire on him, a blast came out of nowhere and destroyed the warship in a brilliant blaze of fire.

Standing above him, and her hand out to him, was the woman that had left her son to fight with the resistance group. She helped Snow to his feet while saying "I told you Moms were tough."

Another blast hit directly behind the woman, sending her barreling into Snow and they both were on the ground again as the infrastructure gave way. The people on both sides were sliding down the damaged platform, screaming and yelling, while falling into the abyss and onto the structures below.

Snow and the injured woman also slid down, but he was able to catch her by her hand and caught the crumbling structure with the other. The two dangled in mid-air as Snow kept yelling for her to hang on. She looked up at him as she said "Get him home", lost consciousness, and then slipped away from Snow's grip, silently falling towards the unknown below.

Snow was horrified that he couldn't save her as he looked at his hand as if it had betrayed him in some way muttering "Get him home, get who home." Suddenly, the structure deteriorated further and sent Snow plunging downward to an unknown fate as the woman before him had done.

Luckily, he had hit the platform directly below from where he had fallen, hitting hard on his back, which rattled him considerably, he was stumbling while trying to get to his feet and shaking his head trying to get his equilibrium to return.

Gadot was there; unconscious from his fall, and Snow shook him, trying to revive him, and then slapped his face several times. "Come on, snap out of it!" Snow yelled at Gadot. Finally he came around and discovered his shoulder was dislocated, but pushed it back into place, grimacing at the pain.

* * *

Lightning and the pilot were fighting their way though the chaos of the battle, encountering and dispatching PSICOM troops to their final resting place along the way. The pilot was twice Lightning's age and struggled to keep up with her, but he didn't want to be left behind, he knew he would never survive this on his own. They jumped onto a transport to traverse an area that had no platforms left to walk on.

The pilot watched the battle going on below him and sadly declared, "It's an out and out massacre, those people won't last long enough to be purged." Lightning spoke in a matter of fact fashion "That's the point, why carry the threat to Pulse when you can end it all right here." The pilot, shocked at what he heard said "You knew about this?" "No, it's the Sanctum logic" she responded.

"What's your angle soldier girl? You know, what are you here for" the pilot asked. Lightning paused as she changed the direction of the transport, "The fal'Cie," she said flatly.

"Huh?" he said. "My angle," she responded as she nodded her head in the direction of the vestige that was being towed in, "I'm after the fal'Cie. Are you glad you tagged along now?" Shocked, the pilot lowered his head and replied under his breath "No choice"

* * *

The boy had watched his mother fall from Snow's grip into the darkness of the abyss below and stood in shock at what he had just witnessed. The other deportees were scrambling to safety, but he just stood there until a girl shook him and slapped his face to reality.

"We have to go, come on!" she shouted at him, as she grabbed his arm to get him to move. "Uh, yeah" was all he could mutter from his mouth, as the girl pulled and pushed him to safer territory with the others.

The vestige was in tow by a dozen airships using glowing green graviton beams to uphold it and keep it in place. It was a massive structure that dominated the area; no one could help seeing it, striking fear and dread in hearts of many. For Snow and Lightning, it was the object of their destination and of their fate.

"So, what's the plan, Boss?" Gadot asked Snow. "Same as always," Snow replied "Rush in, guns blazing." Gadot smirked at Snow as they moved along the platform, rushing any soldiers they came in contact with. They came upon three that had Aero Bikes and Snow said "There's our ride".

They easily overtook the soldiers and hopped on the bikes as Gadot spoke to Snow "Isn't about time you go after her?" as he nodded his head to the vestige where Serah was being held. Snow looked up at the vestige and simply said "Yah." They took off on the bikes and were quickly reunited with the rest of the group and the deportees' they were protecting.

Snow remained on the bike as he was going to the vestige to rescue Serah, telling Gadot to watch over the kids, knowing he might not ever see his friends again. Gadot, also realizing he might never see his friend again, decided to add a little humor to the situation.

"Sure" Gadot said precariously, "You go off skirt chasing and leave me here watching the kids." Snow retorted "I'll owe you dinner." "It better be a home cooked dinner" Gadot responded.

Yuj piped in and said teasingly "When's the date, lover boy?" to Snow.

"Soon, and none of you are invited to the wedding" Snow told them all; as he took off on the bike to the where Serah was being held, waving good-bye to his friends.

The boy that lost his mother was upset to see Snow leave because he was angry with him and wanted to tell him what he thought. He blamed Snow for his mother's demise, even though Snow had done everything he could to save her.

The girl that had urged the boy to safety was still with him and started to throw off the prison robe like everyone else had. She had red hair that was tied up in pigtails and odd clothing that the boy had never seen before. She hugged him, and then waved good-bye as she took off running towards the other deportees.

The boy hollered for her to wait as he ran after her, wanting to talk to her. She ran up to the remaining bike and, after a bit of conversation, convinced the boy to steal the bike and pursue Snow to vestige. Gadot spotted them and yelled at them to get off the bike, but the boy started the machine and they headed to the vestige before Gadot could stop them.

They crashed landed inside the vestige leaving the bike totally destroyed and no way to get out. The girl was not worried, but the boy was in a panic as he was dreadfully afraid of anything to do with Pulse, none less a Pulse fal'Cie.

"My name is Vanille" the girl said "What's yours?" "Hope" the boy nervously responded "My name is Hope."

Snow was already there, working the levers which made the passageways and stairs appear so he could proceed through the structure to find his bride to be. He encountered several beasts that he disposed of easily, all the while calling out to Serah, his booming voice echoing throughout vestige.

Hope and Vanille heard him and decided to follow his voice to find him. They also were encountering beasts that they were able to defeat using Hope's boomerang and an odd weapon that Vanille had discovered in the vestige.

Lightning and the pilot had made it to the vestige, struggling with a door that wouldn't open. Lightning was striking it with her gunblade, but it refused to yield to her. The door finally opened when Snow triggered one of the levers from the inside and the two entered the massive structure, immediately being met by beasts and newly forming Cie'th that were hideous in appearance, squirming and wiggling as they were developing, advancing on the two to attack.

They fought their way through them all and the pilot was exhausted, remarking to Lightning, as he paused to rest, "That's what happens to a l'cie that doesn't complete their focus, they turn into a Cie'th and are fated to wander forever like that."

"Why are we here?" the pilot finally asked. Lightning looked at him and told him "My sister is being held here and I've come to get her out."

The pilot stuttered and stammered with his words, trying to relay to Lightning that the girl might have already been turned into a Cie'th, but Lightning wasn't listening to any of it, so he gave up.

They heard Snow calling out to Serah, and started moving towards the direction of his voice. They were still encountering a number of Cie'th so the progress through the vestige was slow as they battled their way towards Snow's position.

Hope and Vanille had become trapped on one of the platforms, surrounded by Cie'th, as they were back to back and petrified as to what to do. There were too many of them for the two to fight off, thinking they were doomed, when Snow arrived and jumped onto the platform with them shouting, "Let's even these odds!" as he went into his fighting position.

The other two took up their positions next to him and they fought furiously to defeat one Cie'th after another. When they had defeated the last one, Snow asked "What are you two doing here?" They looked at one another and tried to stutter out an answer, but nothing came out coherent.

"Why are you here?" Vanille asked of Snow. "To get Serah" he answered pounding his fists together in front of him. "Who's Serah?" she asked.

"My wife" Snow replied as he was looking around the vestige "Well, my wife to be" he added. "Come on, let's get moving" he said as he had decided where he was going next. "Serah!" he yelled "Where are you?" as the three started out down the passageway.

Serah heard Snow calling to her and she yelled to him, "Snow, I'm here!"

His heart started racing with joy as he heard Serah's voice. "Keep talking, baby. I'm coming!" He shouted to her, going as fast as he could to get to her as Hope and Vanille tried to keep up. Lightning and the pilot also heard the shouting and were still fighting a path through the newly forming Cie'th that blocked their way.

"Snow!" she yelled "I'm so afraid!" she yelled one more time, and Snow realized she was on the darkened platform right above them. Up the stairs they rushed and there was Serah, crouched in one of the darkened corners, crying. Snow ran over to her and pulled her to her feet then embraced her tightly, so thankful she was alive, he didn't want to let her go.

"Serah, I'm so happy I found you, baby. I'll get you out of this place and to somewhere safe" Snow told her softly "You don't need to cry anymore." She embraced Snow with all her might, still crying and sobbing, and trembling all over.

Lightning and the pilot had just arrived and Lightning rushed over and hugged her, the dread drained from her that she would never see Serah again. Serah embraced her sister tightly, as she had when she was younger after their mother had died, leaving the two alone to raise themselves. Lightning noticed this and realized how fearful the girl was and hugged her tightly, patting her back, to try to ease her fear.

Serah then stepped back away from them, tears streaming down her face, and shouted "You all have to get out of here before it's too late!"

"That's why we're here Serah," Lightning said with confusion in her voice, "to take you home."

"I can't go with you, it's too late for me, and you all have to leave as quickly as you can!" Serah said sadly with tears still flowing from her eyes.

"What are you talking about, Serah? I'm not leaving here without you" Snow firmly stated.

Serah slowly turned to the group while dropping her head into her hands to expose her left side to them. On her upper arm was the brand of the Pulse fal'Cie.

She raised her head and turned to face them saying "I'm a Pulse l'cie now, an enemy of Cocoon and a threat to everyone on Cocoon, doomed to become a Cie'th. If you stay here, you'll be branded too, so you have to leave now!" She cried, "I have nowhere left to go. Everyone else that was here has turned to a Cie'th; I'm the only one left."

Suddenly, the vestige started shaking and pieces of it started falling around them. Snow lunged forward and grabbed Serah to protect her from the falling debris and held her tightly. "I'm not leaving without you and if that means staying here with you, then that's what I'll do!" Snow said with stern conviction in his voice.

"PSICOM is destroying the vestige" the pilot said.

"We've got to move, and Serah you're coming with us!", Lightning said in a commanding voice.

"They're not taking it to Pulse?" Vanille asked confusingly.

"No, this was supposed to be everyone's last stop. They wanted to eradicate the problem here and let the rest of the world think that everyone had been purged to Pulse" Lightning stated.

The door at the top of the vestige suddenly glowed red with the design of brand that Serah wore on her arm, then slid open revealing nothing but darkness inside.

Snow stood staring at it, punching his fists together, and saying "Come on Serah, we have a date with a fal'Cie. We've got some talking to do."

He reached for Serah's hand as the pilot exclaimed "You're not seriously going in there are you?" Snow retorted loudly back "What else do you want me to do?"

Lightning looked at Snow and realized he was right; there was nothing else they could do if they wanted to save Serah. She was branded and the only way to save her was to take on the fal'Cie, she silently walked past Snow and Serah and up the stairs.

Snow and Serah ran up the stairs passing her, as the others reluctantly followed them through the doors and into the darkness of the room.


	8. Chapter 8 Lake Bresha

_Keep in mind, I'm tweaking the game the way I want it, so not everyone is doing or saying the same things as in the game, but the general theme is there. Reviews and suggestions are welcome – Thanks for reading_

* * *

Snow and Serah were in the lead, walking hand in hand down the dark passageway, then down some stairs as they entered a large dimly lit room. In the middle of the room was a huge dome like machine that seemed lifeless or sleeping. They continued their path to confront the fal'Cie and hopefully talk the entity into removing the brand on Serah's arm.

They stood several feet away from it as Snow started his plea for Serah's release. She held tightly onto Snow, frightened by the thing in front of her. Lightning entered the room, watching and listening to Snow's plea, as the others slowly entered the room and kept their distance from it, lingering at the bottom of the stairs.

Snow finally offered the entity himself in place of Serah yelling "Take me! I'll be your l'cie instead, just let Serah go!" as he shook his fist in the air towards the metal object.

Serah grabbed at Snow's arm, shaking it as hard as she could while shouting "No Snow, don't do that! I couldn't go on without you – I'd rather turn Cie'th than to live without you!"

He looked down into her worried face and gave her a reassuring smile and told her softly "Don't worry, it'll be OK."

There was no reaction from the entity in front of them and Lightning decided it was her turn, as she took a few steps towards it, pulling her gunblade and shouting "This dam thing doesn't care about us or anyone else, keep on pleading with it if you want to, but I'm not!" as she started hitting it with her blade as hard as she could. Serah had never seen her sister this angry before and it almost scared her as she tightened her grip on Snow.

Blow after blow with her blade and no reaction from the entity, Lightning yelled "People are dying and it's this things fault. This thing has to die!" as she swirled around and landed the hardest blow yet.

That blow did something as it pushed her back almost toppling her from her footing. "Lightning!" Snow called out in concern, as he advanced towards her to catch her if she fell. The others gasped aloud as they watched the scenario play out in front of them.

At that moment the clear glass-like designs on the floor blazed forth with light that almost blinded them and filled the entire room and passageway with light. Hope nearly wet his pants and started running for the door to escape, but the doors slammed shut in his face trapping him in the passageway. He sank down to the floor and started to cry from the fear that was ravaging him from top to bottom. "Why me?" he thought to himself, "How did I get myself into this?"

Everyone jumped backwards, gasping at the unexpected awakening of the entity, as the front of the dome opened with a blinding light that made them all shield their eyes. Snow immediately got Serah to the bottom of the stairs where Vanille was still standing and told Serah to stay with Vanille, as the two girls clung to each other's arms out of fear.

As the blinding light dissipated and they could see again, Snow took up his fighting position alongside of Lightning who had her blade raised and ready to attack, as Lightning yelled, "This is for Serah!" Snow repeated the words shouting "For Serah!"

The pilot looked towards the floor and murmured to himself "Dajh. Count me in!" he yelled "I've got these and I may as well use them" as he pulled his guns from the holsters he wore strapped on both sides of his legs.

The entity grew in size as mechanical arms with swirling rotors rose up on both sides, and a large claw like device was close to a big purple crystal in the center. Snow, Lightning and the pilot concentrated their attacks on the arms first, destroying one then the other, then going for the crystal in the middle.

The arms would quickly regenerate themselves and they had to repeat the strategy over and over. The claw would swipe at them every time they got close to crystal and they had to avoid getting hit by it if they could.

Finally, the crystal started to crack and the thing started to come apart, pieces were flying into the air hitting the walls and ceiling of the room. Snow ran for Serah, but suddenly the room went black and started shaking violently throwing everyone to the floor.

The floor dissipated beneath them and they were all floating in darkness, the sounds of bells tolling in the background. "Where are we? Lightning asked trying to see in the darkness. "What's going on?" Snow questioned the others.

A huge, green crystal appeared above them then a rush of green lit mist from below shot up to the crystal, transforming the crystal to an eerie green entity. Its arms unfolded and a face appeared on a mechanical body. Its stature was huge, possibly eight or nine stories tall.

Long slivers of glowing green tentacles from the entity engulfed the darkness and were wrapping themselves around the arms and legs of everyone, holding them with an unbreakable grip in a spread eagle fashion as they tried unsuccessfully to free themselves. The entity then shot each one of them with a painful bolt of light sending them into a dreamlike state and losing consciousness.

Snow was dreaming of the night he proposed to Serah and the kiss they shared in front of the fireworks when he was quickly jerked back to consciousness and to a setting position, yelling out her name. The others were all coming to and moaning, trying to shake the cobwebs out of their heads.

"Where are we? Is this for real?" Snow asked.

"This must be Lake Bresha, but it's all turned to crystal" the pilot said as they all looked around in amazement at the sight. In the middle of the crystalized lake was the vestige, with only the top half visible, as the rest was submerged and buried in crystal.

"We must have fallen from up there" Snow observed, pointing to the remaining lights of the Hanging Edge, "but no one can survive a fall that far."

Lightning started speaking about needing to get moving when Snow spotted a fully developed Cie'th moving up from behind her. "Look out!" He shouted as he ran past her and held it back with his right hand and hit the thing as hard as he could with his left which sent it flying and put it down for good.

"What?" Snow questioned "I shouldn't have been able to do that!" Then he noticed the brand on his left forearm, which was blazing a bright blue color. He grasped his arm where the brand was, as he looked to the others. "It's fal'Cie magic! We're all cursed by the fal'Cie!" Hope cried out.

Three more Cie'th moved in on the group and Lightning pulled her gunblade and ran towards them, Snow went into his fighting stance with his fists in front of him and Vanille backed them up with her healing magic. Their blows were more powerful and deadlier than ever before and they were learning to use the magic to cast a variety of offensive strikes.

Snow had a special defensive power that allowed him to provoke the enemy and draw the attacks to him, while the group was free to attack the enemy unharmed. Vanille kept casting cure to heal the wounds of group, but had her binding rod ready in case she needed to use it.

Serah stayed back and tried using the magic she felt pulsing though her and was able to throw a cure spell to Snow. The pilot was also attempting to use his magic, but couldn't quite get the hang of it yet. They dispatched the Cie'th to their demise more quickly than they had expected to, using the magic that enhanced their fighting abilities.

"So it's confirmed" Snow questioned "We're all branded?" They all replied with affirmative statements revealing their brands except for Lightning – her brand was on her chest and she wasn't about to reveal it to anyone. Vanille didn't revealed hers since it was on her left butt cheek. Hope's was on his left wrist; the pilot's was on the middle of his chest.

Serah's was still there, but had been changed. "Mine isn't red anymore" she said "Its turned black again and no arrows."

"What does that mean, Serah? Lightning asked.

"Well, when it turns all red and there are arrows at the end of the lines, that's when the people in the vestige started turning to Cie'th." Serah explained, "Some brands turned within a few minutes, others a few hours, there doesn't seem to be a set time for how fast it progresses."

Serah put her hands over her face and started to cry, as Snow came to her and comforted her in his arms. "I told you all to leave before this happened, now you're all l'cie too!" she cried, as tears ran down her face.

Snow put his finger under her chin and raised her head so could he look in her face and said softy and sweetly to her "I'd rather be a l'cie with you and share our fate together, then to spend the rest of my life without you in it."

He bent down and gave her a kiss, then wiped the tears from her eyes, "We're going to figure this out, and everything's going to Ok" he assured her. She stopped crying and nodded her head in agreement.

Hope went off on a childish rant "What about me, I don't even know you people!" he shouted "And you!" he shouted at Lightning "Why did you have to go hitting on that thing?" He then turned to Snow shouting "This is your fault! You and Serah's fault! Snow quickly shouted back warningly "Watch it!"

Hope fell backwards to ground onto his butt and scooted away from Snow right up against Lightning who was standing there with her arms crossed in front of her and glaring down on him. A grimace came across his face as he realized that wasn't the smartest thing he could have done, as he slowly picked himself up and sheepishly removed himself from the immediate area, standing behind Vanille.

The pilot spoke up and said "Ok, l'cie are supposed to have a focus, right? Complete the focus and turn to crystal and gain eternal life, fail and turn to Cie'th wandering aimlessly forever as a monster. Does anyone know what their focus is?"

Vanille spoke up and said "What I understand is that they only give you hints to your focus, you're supposed to figure it out from there."

"Does anyone remember anything?" Lightning asked "How about you, what do you remember?" she asked as she turned to Hope.

"Well, I remember a big monster like thing tearing up something" he stated. Everyone shook their head in agreement muttering the words "Ragnarok".

"Wait" the pilot said, "We all had the same dream? We all have the same focus?" "Looks that way" Snow commented. "So we're supposed to destroy Cocoon to complete our focus? The pilot asked and added "That's crazy".

Serah interjected "We only saw Ragnarok destroying something, I don't know if it was Cocoon or not. It was all so hazy. Maybe, we're supposed to stop the destruction we saw, not cause it." "But we're Pulse l'cie," the pilot said, "wouldn't it make sense that we would have a focus that would be against Cocoon?"

Lightning spoke up and said "Serah's right, we shouldn't assume anything until we learn more, but right now we have to get moving. PSICOM will be sweeping the area looking for any survivors."

Lightning took point and started walking at a quickened pace, the rest of the group followed, pondering what their focus was and how they were going to complete it.

The Cie'th seemed to be everywhere and they had to battle their way through them all to continue and find a way out of the Lake Bresha area. Each battle made them all stronger and they were learning more ways to utilize the magic as it grew within them. They had decided to introduce themselves to each other, since it looked like they were going to be together for this ordeal to the end.

Snow was the only one strong enough to keep up the pace that Lightning had established and the rest of the group needed a rest in order to continue. They all began to discuss their focus again; Lightning was more interested in keeping a watch for enemies and soldiers and had her gunblade unsheathed, ready for anything. Snow was convinced that their focus was to save Cocoon from any kind of harm.

"We need to use this magic to save Cocoon, not destroy it" he argued. Serah also agreed with Snow, not because they were engaged, but she truly believed that they had to save Cocoon from whatever fate was awaiting it.

"We're talking about millions of people that could lose their lives if we don't defend Cocoon" she reasoned to the group. Sazh, the name of pilot, wasn't convinced that was their focus, but had to concede that destroying Cocoon wasn't high on his list of things to do; however, the thought of taking on Ragnarok wasn't either.

Lightning turned to the group to add her thoughts to the argument, when they were surrounded by PSICOM soldiers, yelling at them to put their hands behind their heads. Everyone put their hands behind their heads; Lightning dropped her gunblade and also did as they said.

"Are you deportee's from the train?" one soldier asked and Lightning responded with a smirk saying "Maybe"

The soldier ran up to her and shoved his gun in her face "Are you getting smart with me?" he shouted. "Nice gun" she responded and in a blink of an eye, she grabbed the gun, hitting the soldier with it and, flipping in mid-air, kicked him into the incoming soldiers.

Taking up her blade, she started blitzing the soldiers, hitting several at time in one blow. The others immediately started fighting, Serah had learned some offensive magic that she was using while Sazh was using his guns.

Hope had learned some of the protective spells which he was throwing on the others. Snow was bashing soldiers all over the place and Vanille was backing them up with cure spells when they needed it.

The soldiers went down more easily than what they expected and Snow explained to them that they were a special Pulse unit that hadn't been deployed in battle for hundreds of years.

"PSICOM green recruits" Sazh remarked. "Make no mistake" Lightning warned" "If we encounter the elite PSICOM units, it's going to be game over unless we get a lot stronger than we are now. Let's get a move on before more troops show up."

Onward they trekked through the snaking pathways of the crystal lake and trying to get out of the area as soon as possible.

"We need to find a place to sleep" Sazh told the others "I can barely keep my eyes open."

"Yeah" Vanille agreed with Sazh, "It's hard to tell if its day or night here, and I'm really sleepy." Lightning and Snow found a place to rest that was defendable and had a way to escape if necessary.

They didn't make a campfire because they didn't want to be detected, but was able to scavenge enough blankets and sleeping bags from the train cars and air ships that were part of the debris in the lake of crystal to keep them warm. Lightning took the first watch and Sazh would relieve her followed by Snow.

Some disagreement between Lightning and Serah erupted about the sleeping arrangements and a compromise was reached between the two - Serah could sleep by Snow as long as she was in a sleeping bag by herself. Snow used blankets since the bags were too small for him and he draped his arm over Serah in her sleeping bag and pulled her close to him, as the two fell asleep after an incredibly grueling day.

Hope, Vanille and Sazh also fell fast asleep, exhausted mentally and physically from the day's activity. The air was chilly and Lightning had a blanket draped over her shoulders to keep her warm, as she vigilantly watched over the others while they slept. The thoughts of the fal'Cie, the focus, and the Purge were running through her head as she tried to make some kind of sense of it all.

Lightning woke to the smell of food being cooked. Snow and Sazh had scoured the train cars and any military equipment looking for things they needed. They found lots of rations and some plates, utensils, cups, water containers and even a frying pan. Serah was busy trying to put a breakfast together for everyone from the rations and was cooking them on a camp stove they had found.

She even had coffee ready for anyone who wanted it. Everyone was hungry as Serah dished up the food she had prepared and passed it out.

"I don't remember rations tasting this good" Sazh commented, sipping his coffee.

"Serah is the best cook" Snow said smiling at Serah "She can make anything taste good."

The others were in agreement as they ate their fill. Lightning also agreed that she had never had rations that tasted that good "and I've eaten my share of them" she said. Everyone chuckled at her remark and Serah grinned at her sister and thanked everyone for the kind words.

The sleeping bags and blankets were special military ones that would fold themselves up to be pocket sized for easy transportation and not weigh down the troops. Everyone could carry their own sleeping gear with them with no trouble or added burden. They also could carry the collapsible cups, a fork and a spoon and what was left of the rations, but everything else would have to be left behind.

As they finished drinking the coffee, they all discussed the focus again. Lightning was finally able to submit her opinion on the subject to the group "I don't care what the focus is since I don't want to be a Cie'th and I don't want to be crystalized. What I do care about is protecting Cocoon and the people in it. If that means fighting Ragnarok, then I'll fight."

Snow looked at Lightning and said "I think our focus is to protect Cocoon and I will do everything I can to protect it."

"I'm with Snow and Lightning" Serah said "I could never do anything that would harm Cocoon or the people in it, regardless of the consequences. I also don't think we know everything yet. There's something missing in all this."

"Let's get moving" Lightning said "we need to get out of Lake Bresha" as she rose to her feet and took point once again and starting leading the group out of the area. They were encountering more beasts and wildlife, and an occasional patrol of PSICOM, rather than the Cie'th like the day before and their strength was getting stronger, learning new techniques of magic spells. Snow and Serah always lingered in the back of the group, looking for opportunities to disappear for a few minutes to be alone.

Vanille was like a bubbly child, even though she was a year older than Serah. She was always trying to cheer up a whiny Hope or teasing Sazh about his age when he said he was getting too old for all this. Her solution to everything was to run away and deal with it later. Vanille was keeping her many secrets hidden far away from all of them, not knowing how they would react, so she just kept silent, hoping everything would work itself out. She knew far more about the focus than anyone suspected. Hope felt closer to her than the rest and usually the two were always together.

Sazh was the oldest of the party, and considered them all kids. He had a chocobo chick that had taken up residency in his afro and it would pop out from time to time to everyone's amusement. He had his secrets that he hadn't shared with anyone in the group, yet. Little did he know that if he had shared this information with them, they may have been able to determine the meaning of the focus a lot sooner than what they did. He kept mostly to himself; always thinking about the events that led up to this and whether he had made the right decision to place himself on that train.

Hope. Spoiled, self-absorbed fourteen year old teenager. He blamed everyone else for events that happened to him and was scared of everything. His constant whining and outbursts of criticism would irritate everyone. Serah had scolded him several times for his inappropriate behavior; even Vanille had to tell him to watch his mouth when it got to her a couple of times. He was an only child, indulged by his parents growing up and at those "teenage years" which are always a trying time. Vanille was the only one that knew his secret, but even she didn't know how much this secret was eating at Hope, making him even more difficult to get along with.

They had walked most of the day, fighting several battles on the way and the group needed a rest. They picked a spot that was hard to detect from the air if any PSICOM airships were in the vicinity. Sazh was leaning against a crystal wall away from the group while the others were engaged in conversation.

Suddenly, he started shouting, "Hell no! Not now! No! No! No!" as a searchlight crossed his chest several times. The others all turned to see what was wrong; Lightning immediately pulled her blade searching for the cause of the outburst. Descending from the sky was one of the PSICOM's "little toys", as Lightning called them, a Manasvin Warmech.

Sazh and Lightning encountered one of these when they first exited the train and this one was more powerful than that one was. Snow had to use his special ability of Provoke and Steelguard to keep the attacks away from everyone else so they could hit it hard. Sazh had finally learned how to use the magic and was throwing protective spells on everyone.

Vanille learned how to use magic to sabotage the enemies' defensive and offensive maneuvers and was casting as many as she could at the thing. Serah was throwing every offensive spell she knew and Hope had learned the healing spells and was healing the group as fast as he could. Lightning was alternating between attacking with her blade and throwing offensive magic.

When the enemy attacked, it was devastating. Serah would switch to healing spells to help Hope keep the party going. Vanille was switching to offensive magic to help stagger it and Sazh also switched to offensive spells and was casting them as fast as he could. They finally staggered it and after a few more blows, they defeated it.

It was the most difficult battle they had fought up to this point and it had drained all of them of their strength. With the exception of Snow and Lightning, the rest of the group were on their hands and knees in complete exhaustion. Snow ran over to Serah to make sure she was alright, as he helped her to her feet.

After a few minutes of rest, Lightning insisted they had to get moving. "Troops will be coming" she warned "and not just a few of them. They send these things out in advance to soften up the enemy before attacking". She started out and the others slowly followed as they were all still exhausted from the battle.

Suddenly, some of the crystal wall started to crack and crumble, where it was hit by some of the attacks of the airship. Giant pieces of the crystal came tumbling down with a deafening roar and blocked the pathway. Snow and Serah were separated from the rest of group and the mound of crystal was too high for them to traverse.

"Can you hear me?" Snow yelled as loud as he could. "We hear you, are you OK?" Sazh shouted back. "We're OK, how about you?" Snow yelled. "We're OK" Sazh shouted. "You go ahead, we have to find another way out and we'll catch up to you!" Snow shouted back. "Got it, we'll meet up later!" Sazh shouted in return.

Lightning was not at all happy about this, Serah was separated from her but she was with Snow, who would take care of her, but they would be alone – this she didn't care for at all. There was nothing she could do but continue to lead the others to safety and hope Snow and Serah would catch up to them soon. The four of them continued on their journey out of Lake Bresha, dismayed at having to leave Snow and Serah behind to catch up to them later.


	9. Chapter 9 - Lindblum

_These chapters will follow the team members in their entirety until they meet up again or are close to meeting up again, instead of bouncing around as the game did. Thanks for reading! Reviews/suggestions are always welcome!_

* * *

Snow and Serah examined the area carefully and there seemed to be only two ways to proceed. They could return the way they came in and try to find another path or try to reach a path that was some distance above them. They decided to return the way they came in and look for another path around as it would be too difficult, if not impossible, to reach the path above them without the right type of equipment.

They started walking, both still exhausted from the last battle, but they couldn't afford to waste any time if Lightning was right about the troops. Sure enough, three spotter ships flew over as they ducked for cover to avoid detection. Thinking it was safe, they started walking again when three inceptors with searchlights were suddenly above them. They heard the communications between the ships "l'cie spotted. Confirmed Pulse l'cie spotted." Then they heard "Initiate Cleanup Protocol."

"Serah get behind me" Snow hurriedly said. "Cleanup, Huh - Well let me help you with that!" Snow angrily shouted, as a massive amount of troops were descending from the ships using graviton devices and landing right in front of them. Snow threw a huge piece of debris at the troops, which took out a few of them, then went into his fighting stance and started punching as many of them as he could.

Serah was throwing healing magic to Snow, occasionally throwing an offensive spell onto the troops to weaken them for him. She dropped to her knees from exhaustion, but keep throwing as much healing as she could on Snow, until she collapsed to the ground unconscious. Snow was also becoming exhausted and he fell to his knees as more PSICOM troops were descending on him from the airships above.

Suddenly, his brand started blazing bright blue and a large blue sphere began to appear between him and the troops. "What's happening?" he questioned as he grabbed his arm in pain. The soldiers were bewildered, shouting to each other "What's he doing?" and "Stay sharp".

The sphere grew huge in size and then morphed into two blue shadowy figures floating and dancing gracefully in the air, morphing again into two solid female forms. One had a wheel that floated in her hand and glowed with an essence of blue light. She whirled the wheel at the soldiers and it took them down in one pass. The mysterious wheel returned to her and she whirled it towards the airships and they were destroyed by the wheels mere passing of them.

Snow, still on his knees, watched in amazement and bewilderment at the site in front of him. They then turned to Snow and displayed a fighting stance, as Snow jumped to his feet and put his fists in front of him. They hit him with a "Doom" spell, which meant he only had so much time to defeat them before being defeated himself.

He immediately went into Steelguard to protect himself, not knowing what to expect from them. He then remembered Serah's words "Focus on your target, watch how it moves, anticipate its' next move"

The female with the wheel, whirled it at him and the Steelguard held up. He watched as she then placed the wheel above her head, as if charging it for another attack. After a few seconds, she whirled it at him again and did the same thing when the wheel returned to her. He charged in for an attack and then went right back into Steelguard, as she whirled it back at him again.

The strategy worked, as Snow repeated it several times, watching for his opportunity to strike, quickly returning to protection. The two entities yielded to him and gracefully swirled around each other in an exotic manner in the sky, as the two interlocked their legs and transformed into a motorcycle before dissipating into thin air.

Snow grabbed his arm in great pain, his brand still blazing bright blue, collapsing on his back and almost passing out. He heard a woman speaking to him "Defeating the Twin Sisters, I'm impressed, but you may regret later not letting them finish you off and be done with all this." He opened his eyes to a blurry vision of a woman in a blue dress, pointing a menacing looking weapon at him.

"More of you, Huh," Snow said flatly"

"He's l'cie" she said to soldiers "Take him." The soldiers got Snow to his knees, but he was resisting them as much as he could. The woman leaned down and put her finger under his chin and said "Are you going to come peaceable?" Snow jerked his head away from her touch and angrily replied "Back off!"

Serah was starting to wake up and two guards rushed over to secure her also.

"Leave her alone!" Snow shouted, "I'll go with you, just leave her alone!"

The woman instructed the guards to release Snow and he rushed over to Serah to assist her. "I'm here, baby" he said "Are you OK?" hugging her close to him.

"I'm alright, just so weak feeling" she replied, raising her arm and placing it on her brow.

Snow gently picked her up in his arms and carried her, since she was still too weak to stand, then followed the woman to the airship. The soldiers were all around them, so Snow had no choice but to board the airship with Serah. As he boarded, he noticed the brand on the woman's right upper arm.

"You too?" he questioned "Why are you helping them?"

"If I was you, I'd worry about myself and the little one there" she replied sarcastically.

They were locked into a room that wasn't a lockdown cell, as he expected it would be. It had 2 beds with a bathroom and even a small refrigerator with food and drink. Snow laid Serah on the bed, holding her hand and stroking her face.

"Where are we? Who was that woman?" she asked Snow, since the last thing she remembered was battling the PSICOM troops.

"The Calvary captured us, we're on a warship of theirs" as Snow explained the events after she passed out. "I don't know who the woman is, but I have a feeling we're going to find out. You rest now, baby" he softly said to her. "You too", she said as she moved over and patted the bed for Snow to join her.

Removing his boots and coat, he lay down beside her on his left side, she rolled over to her left side and he wrapped his right arm around her waist. She unclipped her pony tail and let her long beautiful hair fall loosely onto the bed as she snuggled up against him, laying her arm on top of his, and both fell asleep from exhaustion.

Snow was the first to wake, not knowing how long he had slept, as there was no windows or time devices in the room. Serah was still asleep and he carefully got up, as not to disturb her. There was a shower in the bathroom and he decided to take advantage of it while he could. He discovered a dry clean unit in the small room so he stripped down and threw everything in the unit, except for his boots, and turned it on.

The warm water from the shower had never felt so good, streaming over his head and down his body, as he wondered what was in store for Serah and him. This is not the typical way the military treats its prisoners, but they were definitely prisoners none the less. When he finished with the shower he toweled off and got dressed in his freshly cleaned clothes.

Serah was waking up and she did the same as Snow, handing her clothes to him through the small opening of the bathroom door. It was so refreshing to have the water hitting her face, the soap washing away the grime she felt on her skin. She too, was thinking about what was in store for her and Snow as prisoners of the Calvary, as they could have easily killed them both as PSICOM had intended to do.

"What devious things are they up to, anyway?" she thought as she toweled off and opened the door slightly to find her clothes folded for her in a little pile. She smiled, picking up the clothes, thinking how sweet it was for him to fold her clothes and have them waiting for her. She dressed and felt so much better to be clean and refreshed, exiting the bathroom to join Snow who was waiting for her, sitting on the bed and drinking his second bottle of water.

The door suddenly opened to Snow and Serah's room and the woman came in followed by six or more soldiers. "You're being transported to another ship" she said "as the soldiers put magnetic cuffs on the two and led them out of the room to a waiting area at the front of the airship.

Snow and Serah watched out the windows at the massive air display of airships flying in and out of the clouds. The woman told them that, "if they behaved themselves everything would be fine." Snow replied that he wasn't making any promises.

The Lindblum suddenly descended from the clouds – it was the Cavalry's home base and was a massive airship of unequaled size.

"Woo Hoo, Hoo look at you!" he exclaimed "wonder what's under the hood of that thing" as he glanced over to Serah, who was smiling at Snow's fascination with the airship.

"Keep your pants on" the woman responded "you'll get a peek soon enough" as she walked away.

Serah gave the woman a scowl as she watched her walk away. "I don't like her at all "she whispered to Snow, "and I don't trust her either"

"Yeah" Snow whispered back, "I know what you mean. Guess we're going to find out what's going on soon enough" as he turned back to the window, watching the Lindblum.

The airship docked on the Lindblum, and the two were escorted down a long corridor, heavily guarded and still in cuffs. Serah looked down at the cuffs on her hands and then at the guards, thinking how funny it was that they thought she was such a threat.

No one ever considered her a threat before being branded a l'cie, "I can wield magic and I'm getting stronger the more I use it, I need weapons though" her thoughts were racing with the possibilities of what she would do if they can get out of the situation they're in now.

They were met by a man that introduced himself as Cid Raines, Brigadier General in charge. "You must be Snow, and this must be Serah" as he held out his hand to shake hands, but neither accepted the offer.

"Hi Cid, thanks for the escort" Snow mocked, as he raised his cuffed hands to the man.

"Un-cuff them," Raines commanded of the soldiers, and then continued to say, "I need to discuss something of vital importance with you two, please follow me."

As the two were un-cuffed, they joined hands to follow Raines, when the woman noticed Snows brand start to blaze a bright blue.

"What are you up to?" she demanded, as she nodded her head to Snows brand.

He looked down at it and shrugged, saying, "I'm not doing anything, it's been doing that ever since you guys showed up."

"Hmmm" she said, looking at the two suspiciously. They proceeded to follow Raines to an office and there was another man there by the name of Rygdea.

"This is Fang," Raines said, starting the introductions, "and this is Rygdea." "Fang is a Pulse l'cie, just as you are; however, she just came out of crystallization after roughly 500 years in the vestige that was destroyed at Lake Bresha. There was another one with her by name of Vanille. Together, they were the ones that set off the explosion at the gorge, and set this whole thing into motion."

Serah gasped at hearing Vanille's name, and covered her mouth with her hand. "We know Vanille was with you," Raines went on to say, "we believe she was trying to get back to Pulse and she probably thought the deportees were actually going to be relocated there."

Serah finally said "What does all this have to do with us?"

"We need your help in bringing down the Sanctum" Rygdea said, taking over the conversation and pacing the room. "The Sanctum is being led by the fal'Cie, the Purge was just one example how out-of-control they are becoming. We want to return Cocoon back to the control of the people and out of Sanctum and fal'Cie rule. We need to find the others before PSICOM does; they want a public execution of all the Pulse l'cie to calm the citizens of Cocoon." Raines then asked of the two "Will you aid us?"

Snow and Serah looked at each other, and then back at Raines, "How do we know we can trust you?" Snow replied, as he folded is arm in front of him. "You can't, but we are the best chance you have of staying alive. We will only be able to aid you in ways that won't bring Sanctum suspicion upon the Cavalry, until we are ready to strike." Raines frankly stated.

Serah whispered to Snow, after a moment he whispered back and Serah nodded her head.

"Alright" Snow finally said, "We'll help you bring down the Sanctum and the fal-Cie, but if turns out you're lying to us, we'll bring you down with them." Rygdea smiled and said "Glad to have you aboard!"

Serah got a serious look on her face, then said to Rygdea and Raines, "I need weapons; you must have an armory on board so I can equip myself." Snow saw the look of surprise in their faces, even Fang smiled that this seemingly weak little girl wanted to arm herself.

Snow knew better, after seeing her talents with the bow and the knives, he never underestimated her abilities. It made him grin to think about what was going through their minds, resting his hands behind his head.

"Guard!" Rygdea shouted "Take the lady to the armory and let her take whatever needs." Serah reached over and gave Snow a kiss, then got up off the sofa to leave with guard, saying "I'll be back in flash."

"You'll have free range of the ship" Raines told Snow, "Fang will fill you in on our search for your friends; hopefully, we will find them before PSICOM does. Rygdea and I have other business to tend to, so we will take our leave for now" Raines said, as they walked to the door to exit.

Rygdea turned to Fang before leaving and said "See yah later, Fang."

Fang had been watching the brand on Snow's arm, flickering the entire time and now it was dark again. She had never seen anything like it before and was bewildered by its strange behavior.

"What's with your brand?" she asked Snow "I've never seen anyone's brand act like that before."

"Beats me" he replied, thinking he wouldn't tell her even if he did know what it was doing.

"Come on, big boy, let's wait for the little one out here on the flight deck and I'll fill you in on what we doing to find the others" Fang stated, as she motioned to the door.

Snow stepped out the door and into the large flight deck, listening to Fang explain the plan and examining the various air craft sitting about.

Serah was taken to the armory, and started looking at all the weaponry available to her. Most of it was either too specialized or too heavy for her, but she finally found exactly what she was looking for. She found an array of specialized compound bows with their armor-piercing arrows. Lightning had told her about these, but this was the first time she had seen them.

The arrows were actually pellets of energy that, once loaded into the cylinder, formed into an arrow that could pierce armor. They only held their form for about 10 minutes before dissipating, but were devastating if they hit their target before then. There were about 500 pellets in a pouch, which she reasoned would be more than enough. She took another pouch of pellets that formed into regular arrows, for less specialized needs.

The appropriate attire was there also, all specialized for military use. The breastplate not only protected the chest from the bowstring, but also acted as a shield against attack and the arm guard could add strength to the arm wearing it.

Gathering up the clothing she needed and finding a dressing room, she quickly changed. The spandex shorts were a little shorter than the ones she was used to, but would work just fine. She chose to wear an arm guard on both arms as this would give her more strength in both arms.

She positioned the breastplate in place and buckled it down in the back, it had snaps on the back that the bow snapped into and would easily release for use. The belt had three leather strips, in the front and back, with a 13" sheath and dagger on both sides of the hip. She put on the belt and positioned the two daggers to her liking for ease of use.

She found the leather boots she was looking for, they hid three six-inch knives in each boot and they laced up the front, instead of the zipper ones that could come apart more easily. She chose a bow-string glove instead of tabs so she could wear it continuously and be ready to shoot quickly, if need be. She snapped the bow in place and the pouches of pellets snapped into her belt.

The last couple of items were an item bag, similar to the one Lightning wore, that she strapped on her left leg. This is where she would keep her compressed sleeping bag and other incidentals, and a small energy pulse gun that she strapped on her right leg. She found a knee-length protective red cape that also compressed itself and she placed it in the item bag. It would come in handy for warmth or protection, she thought.

She passed by a full length mirror on her way out and almost scared herself, she looked fearsome. "Well", she thought, "at least the next time somebody puts me in cuffs, I'll know why."

Serah walked down the long corridor again, this time alone and unshackled, as she started to approach the flight deck where Fang and Snow waited for her. Fang caught sight of her and immediately went into a defensive position, placing her weapon in front her, not knowing it was Serah.

Snow saw Fangs reaction and looked up the corridor to see Serah walking towards them, looking like a fearsome female warrior. He trotted up to her as he exclaimed, "Wow! The fal'Cie and the Sanctum aren't going to know what hit them!" as he twilled her around by her hand, "Maqui would die of fright if he saw you right now!" That made Serah laugh, and she said "Aw, poor Maqui!" shaking her head.

Fang, realizing it was Serah, relaxed back into a normal stance and was surprised by the transformation, "But", she thought, "can she shoot that thing or is it all show."

"I'm impressed, little one, but can you shoot that thing?" she asked smugly.

"Pick a target", Serah said daringly to Fang.

"Al'righty", Fang started saying, as she looked around, "how about that paper posted down there" as she pointed to a letter sized poster stuck on one of the beams, about 60 feet from them."

Without a word, Serah swung the bow, which was positioned upside down, from the left side of her back, letting it slip through her hand until reaching the grip, as the arrow self-loaded itself from the canister into position. She was focusing on the target as she pulled the string back to her anchor point and shot, piercing the poster dead center and embedding the arrow one inch into the steel beam. The specialized equipment allowed her to get a shot off in less than 5 seconds with deadly accuracy.

"Humph" was all Fang would say as she gave Serah a devious look and started walking away.

Snow was astounded at the speed and accuracy of the shot and exclaimed "That was cool!" then asked her how she did it.

"It's the equipment, baby", she said softly to him, so Fang wouldn't hear her, "Remember I told you the better the equipment, the easier it is to shoot? This is top of line, specialized military equipment; all you need is the ability to aim quickly."

Rygdea returned, walking up to Fang, and was surprised by Serah's appearance, "I wouldn't have suspected you to be a bow-person," he said to Serah, "you definitely look a lot different than the last time I saw you."

"So, what's on the agenda?" Snow interjected, as he stepped up to Rygdea, not liking the direction where the last conversation was heading.

"PSICOM has picked up some reports on your friends and are attempting to track them down. It seems your team has broken off into two groups. We're going keep monitoring the activities of PSICOM tonight and start following in the morning to see if we can reach your friends first. If we can't, we'll have to come up with a way to rescue them before PSICOM can execute them."

"Well, OK," Snow said with reservation "Like I said before, if you're lying to us, we'll take you down along with the Sanctum" he warned the two, as he punched his fists together in front him.

Fang was still keeping her eye on his brand, which was dark at the moment, but had been glowing on and off just a moment ago. "Weirdest thing I've ever seen," she thought to herself.

Snow and Serah were in their quarters and Snow turned to her, as he threw his coat and gloves on a nearby chair and questioned, "Serah, are we doing the right thing? Ya know, it just doesn't feel right to be chasing them down."

"I know what you mean" Serah responded back, as she removed her weapons and placed them in the same chair as Snow's coat, "but if we don't help, and they are telling the truth, we won't get their help if we need it. Bringing down the Sanctum isn't going to be easy, even for l'cie."

"Yeah", Snow said as he sat on the bed and removed his boots, "I just don't like being in this position."

A knock came to door, and it was Fang wanting to talk to them. Snow opened the door to let her in, motioning with his hand to enter the room. She entered and sat in a chair while Snow returned to sit next to Serah on the bed.

"I know neither of you trust me", she began," but I want you to know I'm not your enemy."

"It doesn't feel that way," Snow retorted to her quickly, "this whole thing feels wrong." as he bumped his fists together.

"When Vanille and I came out of stasis, we had lost our memories of what our focus had been and didn't seem to have a new one. We figured our focus had to be against Cocoon, so we caused the explosion at the power plant. The Cocoon fal'Cie branded a small boy that had snuck in there, and that's when the Sanctum people started showing up, so we ran. We became separated, and I was trying to find her when these guys captured me in Bodhum. PSICOM discovered the vestige was open and the fal'Cie residing in it, and here we are".

"Vanille never said a word about any of this" Serah said glancing between Snow and Fang, "she led us to believe that she had just been branded. Your brand looks to be scorched or something and is on your right side, all of ours are on the left side or on the chest. Is there some significance to that?"

"It's always been here, why it's on the right side, I have no idea - as she rubbed it with her hand – but I remember nothing of my focus or turning to crystal. Coming out of stasis, it was all messed up and it's not progressing. Look, I'm only working with these people because I have to, it's the only way I can find Vanille. They have kept their word so far, and I've kept mine to help find you, your friends, and Vanille before PSICOM captures and executes us all."

"What's your plan if we capture Vanille?" Snow asked bluntly "Try to destroy Cocoon again?"

"I'll do whatever I have to do," Fang said, "but, I'll not have her turning to Cie'th, there's no coming back from that. I just want you to understand that I'm in the same position as you, if I don't help these guys out, I might not get to Vanille in time to save her."

"I was kinda branded twice," Serah shared with her "and my first brand had progressed to almost turning Cie'th. After the second time, it returned to its original state. I suspect that Vanille's brand did the same, so she probably has more time than she did before."

A look of relief came across Fang's face and she replied "Thanks for that, little one. The last time I saw her brand, it was starting to turn red."

"I'm going to go catch some shut eye", Fang said as she started to get up, "morning will come soon enough. By the way, little one, that was one hell of a shot you made, I never saw it coming."

She walked to the door and left, looking back briefly at Snow's brand again as it flickered and flashed on and off, and left closing the door behind her. Proceeding to her quarters, she was thinking about Vanille and not knowing what she was going to do to keep Vanille from turning Cie'th.

"What did you make of that?" Snow asked of Serah.

Serah paused a bit, removing her boots, before answering "I think she was telling us the truth, its Vanille that's been deceitful with us all along, but given the circumstances, I'm not sure I would want to say much either. What do you think?"

"The same, but I have a feeling she would turn on you in a second" Snow said, with his arms crossed in front of him.

Serah agreed with him by nodding her head, as she slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. He unfolded his arms and wrapped them around her, gently hugging her as he bent down to kiss her. She ran her hand up to his face and gently stroked it as he kissed her, then pulled the restraint from the pony tail to allow her hair to flow freely with the other. They fell back onto the bed in each other's arms, so grateful for the solitude the two finally had.


	10. Chapter 10 - Odin

_This chapter takes up where they leave Snow and Serah behind and the party of four treks out of Bresha Lake – then follows Lightning and Hope when the party splits in two. The next chapter will continue to follow Lightning and Hope until they reach Palumpolum. Thanks for reading...Please leave a review_

* * *

Lightning and the others were battling their way through the Lake Bresha area, PSICOM patrols were on every twisting corner of the pathway. The crystal was smooth and slippery like glass in places, making the trek even more difficult as they all tried to stay on their feet. Hope fell down more than once and Vanille was always there to help him up and give him words of encouragement.

They were tired and hungry, but Lightning refused to stop, knowing they had to get out of the area before PSICOM could capture them. "We can rest and eat later, when it's safer" she reasoned to herself "otherwise, we don't have a chance."

Her thoughts were constantly drifting back to Serah, hoping to see her and Snow at the next bend, "What could have happened to them? Maybe they found a different way out, waiting for us on the other side of this crystal hell." She was trying to keep her thoughts optimistic, as there was too much pain to think of the alternative.

They felt a rumbling under their feet and heard the loud hum of airships in the distance, as they inched closer to a crystal cliff to peek at what was below. What they saw made them lay flat on their bellies, as not to be seen, and watched in dread of the activities going on below. The Sanctums flag ship, The Palamecia, had landed in a flat area of the crystal lake with dozens of warships flying around it.

"The people of Cocoon really hate anything Pulse, don't they?" Vanille quietly questioned.

"Not so much hate, but fear." Sazh replied to her. More airships arrived, flying almost over their heads and Lightning urgently proclaimed, "They're sealing off the area, looking for stragglers, we have to move, now!"

Cautiously proceeding along the pathway, they moved out of the area and hastened their pace to put some distance between them and the PSICOM warships. Standing at the stairway to the Gates of Antiquity, they paused in amazement as the whole area had turned to crystal.

At the top of the stairs, Sazh remarked "Even the fire has turned to crystal, unbelievable!"

PSICOM troops had taken over the ruins of Bresha City, once a prominent and bustling acropolis before its destruction in the War of Transgression, and the group had to dodge or fight them on every corner and pathway they took. Reaching the top of ruins, they thought they were safe as Vanille starting giggling and running ahead of the group, stopping only to twirl around to take in the beauty of the crystals of fire.

Lightning yelled a warning to her "Stay close!" Vanille giggled back "I want to look around!" Lightning rolled her eyes in frustration at the girl, knowing that anything could be lurking to attack them at any moment.

Sazh and Lightning were trying to decide on the best route to take out, when they heard screams from Vanille a short distance from them.

"Vanille!" Sazh yelled, "Over here!" as they saw her rounding a corner coming towards them, running as fast as she could and screaming all the while.

A flying monster, the size of an airship, came crashing through the fire crystals chasing Vanille. It was a ferocious appearing beast with a multi-colored body and wings of a dragon. It let out a screech that rattled the pillars of the ruins and scared Hope half to death, as he turned to run.

Sazh ran to Vanille, pulling her away from the beast and stood in front of her to offer what protection he could. Lightning unsheathed her blade and prepared for the fight, as Sazh and Vanille followed her example and the battle commenced.

They thought they had it down, but the hideous beast spiraled up into the air and flew a short distance from them, folding its wings around itself as it hovered.

"What is it doing? Sazh asked, bewildered at the site.

"It's charging up" Lightning responded in a matter of fact tone.

"Charging? Charging for what?" he asked of her.

"Humph, it's last moments!" Lightning shouted, as she started running for the beast with her blade held high, ready to strike.

Sazh and Vanille ran after Lightning as the second round of the battle began. The monster was stronger than before, shooting bolts of lightning and devastating balls of energy at them. They countered the attacks with their own offensive magic and staggered the beast, finishing it off as it dropped dead, crashing through a barrier of the crystal fire.

With the barrier gone, a PSICOM airship was revealed, sitting on its launching pad pointing straight to sky. Vanille started giggling again "This will make things easier!"

Sazh walked up from behind her and commented "With our luck, it's probably missing an engine."

Vanille put her hands on her hips and responded "You shouldn't be so negative!" to Sazh, and then the two of them walked to the airship.

Lightning felt uneasy, like something was watching them, hesitating to look all around, but there was nothing in sight. No one had noticed the metallic owl-like bird that had landed high above to watch them battle the monstrous beast, still watching from its perch as they made their way to the airship.

They boarded the ship and took off, but a dozen or so warships detected them as they shot through the portal and gave chase. Sazh and Lightning fought over the controls as Sazh yelled "Stop that! What are doing?" Lightning yelled back "Give me that!" and got off a round of missiles that took out one of the warships.

Sazh tried every maneuver he knew to shake them, but they kept on his tail, firing their weapons at their ship. He finally led them through some narrow gorges; several of the pursuer's ships went down, crashing into the steep cliffs of the ravine.

They had lost their pursuers for a while and the video display units popped on when Sazh hit the control dash with his fist. They were announcing to the world that the Purge was a success and that of the deportees' had safely been deported to Pulse.

The Primarch was giving a speech when Vanille popped up and asked "Uh, Who is this guy?" as she pointed to her display.

Sazh, in disbelief she didn't know who this was, started shaking his head and said "What are they teaching kids in schools these days? This is Galenth Dysley, Primarch and murderer in chief."

Lightning remained silent, her thoughts rushing back to the town of Bodhum wondering if anyone had survived. She had regret that she hadn't spent more time with people she had known and with Serah. "There was no going back, no chance to regain the lost time" she thought "there is only going forward and trying not to make the same mistakes again." They had taken a hit, and the sudden jerk of the airship brought her back to the present to discover their pursuers had returned.

Sazh swerved and bobbed the airship, trying to avoid PCICOM fire, but they took a couple more hits and decided to fly into the pulsing rays of the fal'Cie to try to lose their pursuers. It proved fatal to some of the PSICOM ships that followed, but it also caught their own ship on fire and they headed for a crash landing. Sazh did his best to control the crash and minimize the damage, fire and smoke streaming from the ship as they headed down towards the ground.

Lightning was the first one to come to after the crash landing of the airship, which was in full flames several hundred feet away from them. She checked on the others, who were still unconscious, but didn't seem to be injured. A group of domesticated peacekeepers were encroaching upon them and Lightning pulled her weapon and ran towards them to face them alone, defending her fallen comrades.

She used her blitzing maneuver to hit several of them at once, and then would throw a thunder spell to weaken them. Vanille woke up to see Lightning fighting alone and quickly woke the other two so they could run to fight beside her.

They quickly defeated the beasties and they all sat down to recover a bit, but Lightning was having none of it, as she wanted to hurry up and get away from the area. "What? No break?" Sazh shouted at Lightning in disbelief.

"We've got to move, they're tracking us!" Lightning shouted as she started walking. "I know that! But we're not soldiers; we don't have your stamina!" Sazh responded back to her.

"You have enough to complain!" she turned and retorted back to Sazh.

"Where are we?" Vanille asked as she looked around at the dismal surroundings.

"Ville Peaks," Sazh responded, "dumping ground for excess military equipment, especially the Pulse armament".

Hope decided he would follow Lightning, afraid of being left behind and took off after her. Sazh and Vanille rested for a short while before deciding they better follow and try to catch up. A bridge gave way before Sazh and Vanille could use it, so now they had to use a different path than the one that Lightning and Hope had taken.

Sazh and Vanille were separated from Hope and Lightning for quite a while before finally meeting up again. First, they met up with Hope, sitting alone, holding his head in his hands.

"Where's grumpy?" Sazh asked him. Hope nodded his head towards a sheer cliff of debris that Lightning had traversed, leaving Hope behind.

"So, you got left behind" Sazh remarked as he put his hand on the kids shoulder.

Hope immediately became angry, jerking his shoulder away from Sazh and started shouting "It's over for me! I can't fight, and I can't go home!" Vanille tried to cheer him up by saying "Don't worry, we'll get you home."

"Mom is gone and there's nothing there for me now" he responded, hanging his head.

"What about your Dad? He'll be worried." Vanille asked ina sypathetic voice.

"He doesn't care" Hope said, turning his back on them.

"Believe me, Dads always care" Sazh said quietly, and glanced towards the ground.

Sazh spotted an odd looking control panel on the opposite side of the cliff and, after pushing some buttons, it pulled the debris into a passable pathway. Reaching the top, they started along the pathway when Lightning jumped down in front of them.

"Did you miss us?" Sazh asked Lightning. "Humph" was only response he received from her.

"Would it hurt her to smile for once? Sazh turned to Vanille and asked. Vanille shrugged her shoulders at him and didn't say a word.

They shared stories of the battles they had fought and discussed what might have become of Serah and Snow as they were eating some of the rations they had left.

"They must have found another way out," Sazh reasoned, "The Sanctum wouldn't miss an opportunity to tell the world they had captured some Pulse l'cie, right?"

Lightning agreed, "They would make a public spectacle of it, even we would hear about it out here."

"Where do we go from here?" Sazh asked Lightning. "I mean, do we keep running? Does it even matter anymore?"

Lightning looked up in the sky and nodded her head towards the glowing light that everyone recognized as Eden and said "That's my target, the Sanctum wants a fight, I'll take it to their front door."

"Are you crazy?" Sazh questioned, "just march into Eden and take on the Sanctum, just like that. We wouldn't stand a chance." After some argument, Lightning started out for her destination of Eden, hell bent on taking down the Sanctum or die trying.

Sazh wasn't about to go on what he considered a fool hearty mission as that and refused to follow. Vanille wasn't thrilled about the idea either and remained behind with Sazh. Hope on the other hand wanted to follow Lightning for only one reason, he wanted to learn how to fight and become strong like her.

Lightning left without knowing that Hope was hot on her trail. When he caught up, he hollered "Wait for me, I'm coming with you!" She paused and turned as the boy ran up to her, panting and out of breathe. She tried to persuade him not to follow her, when they heard someone yell "Halt!".

She swung around to see PSICOM soldiers in front of her and exclaimed "Great! A PSICOM hit squad!" One of the soldiers pressed a button on a device he was holding and blew up the passageway Lightning and Hope had just come through, so retreating was no longer an option.

Hope pulled out his boomerang and started throwing his magic on the soldiers, while Lightning was blitzing them with her blade. After prevailing over the soldiers, Lightning had no choice but to let Hope tag along with her, since there was no way for him to return to the others.

"So, what's the plan" Hope asked her, trying to act tough.

She started walking "Go to Gapra Whitewood's then though to Palumpolum, catch a train to Eden from there" she responded.

"I live in Palumpolum" Hope told Lightning "I know all the short cuts, there."

"Alright then. Let's get going" Lightning said, and quickened her pace to leave the area.

Lightning and Hope were almost out of the Ville Peaks area, she had kept up her soldiers pace and Hope was having a hard time keeping up with her. Her thoughts were intertwining between the past and present; she felt guilt tearing at her for the time lost with Serah, and remorse for parents she had lost at such an early age. "What future was ahead of them, would there even be a future for them?" she thought, as she raised her hand to touch the area of her brand.

"Is this the end, as Sazh had suggested, or is there a way out of this?" She became agitated by the confusing dilemma going on in her mind, deciding she had to fight, it was all she knew, and the Sanctum was the target this time. "Why did this kid have to follow me?" she thought as she grew more agitated, "he'll be killed if he stays with me, and he's slowing me down."

As she started crossing the bridge that lead into the Gapra Whitewood area, Hope tripped, landing on his hands and knees. This sent her into a rage, as she started yelling at the boy.

"This isn't working, you're slowing me down!"

"You can't leave me here!" Hope yelled back at her.

"Enough!" she shouted back as she put her hand on her brand as it began to burn.

"The whole world is against us!" she continued as the pain from her brand grew stronger, "I can barely keep myself alive, none less a helpless kid!" The pain increased with every word until it dropped her to her knees. The brand was blazing a crimson red and penetrating through the sleeveless shirt she wore. "You want to get tough, do it on your own!" she yelled, as the bridge beneath her blazed in crimson red patterns and the pain from the brand was such that it made her cry out in pain.

She jumped away from the glowing part of the bridge, to see a huge knight-like figure in gold and silver armor standing in front of her as she yelled in dismay, "This can't be happening!" The figure had a shield and a menacing looking sword that was almost the size he was.

Hope, who had fallen down again on his butt, screamed as the knight held his blade high in the air and started to swing it down on him. The knight was stopped by Lightning's blade, sparks flew as the two metals collided and she pushed the knight back away from Hope.

Hope rose to his feet and stood with Lightning to take up the battle, throwing protective magic on both of them. Lightning tried to attack with her blade, but the knight would stand with his shield up and her attacks would go without harm to him. Switching to magic was more successful, but still caused him very little damage. Hope started casting offensive magic and the knight would quickly and mercilessly attack Hope, again and again.

Lightning switched to healing magic to keep Hope alive and heal his wounds. The knight attacked Hope repeatedly and attacked him with a vengeance which forced Lightning to continuously cast cure onto Hope. Finally, the entity yielded to Lightning, jumping high into the sky and transforming into a beautiful gold and silver steed with rose petals that floated and swirled around the beast before it dissipated into the air.

Lightning's brand was still blazing red and causing her great pain, as she knelt with one knee on the ground, clutching at her chest. Hope ran up to her and asked if that was an Eidolon and Lightning responded "Magic mumbo, jumbo. I must have hit my head on that Purge train".

As the pain subsided, she rose to her feet as Hope questioned her "I'm I really slowing you down?"

Facing forward, she responded "Come on, we'll toughen you up. About before, I'm sorry", as she started walking again, this time at a slower pace that Hope could up with.

After a few more encounters with PSICOM soldiers, Hope was exhausted. Lightning recognized how tired he had become and told him "We'll rest up here; I'm going to look around." When she returned, Hope had fallen asleep against a rock wall. She sat opposite him on the ground, watching him sleep and keeping a vigil for intruders.

In his sleep, he called out "Mom" – Lightning smirked and said "Not by a long shot" as she stared at the boy sleeping. After a time, Lightning chanced drifting off to sleep herself, waking a every little sound, then drifting back to sleep. It wasn't the best night's rest, but it was some rest that could keep her going the next day.


	11. Chapter 11 Palumpolum Nautilus

_This chapter will follow Lightning and Hope to right before they are captured by PSICOM. It will then take up Sazh and Vanille from the split up and follow their journey to Nautilus. – Thanks for reading – Reviews are welcome…._

* * *

Lighting and Hope had made it to Gapra Whitewood and Lightning was trying to teach Hope how to fight so he could take care of himself. She let him take point and kept telling him what to watch for and to keep his eyes forward. They encountered new enemies here, some more difficult than others.

The forest was beautiful around them as they stayed to the platforms that snaked through the area for ease of access. "Focus on your targets, Hope" Lightning told him as they proceeded "Watch them as they move, listen to the sounds they make. It will help you anticipate their next moves and know how to strike them."

They met and defeated beasts along the pathway; Lightning was always instructing Hope on what to do and yelling encouragement to him during the battle. He was getting stronger and his fearfulness was subsiding. Lightning had to caution him against becoming too over confident "I've seen many soldiers defeated by over confidence" she told him "always be cautious and be aware of your surroundings."

They continued along the platforms, when Hope shouted "We have to hide!" as he ran for cover under some foliage, Lightning asked no questions and followed him. Three soldiers on Aero Bikes flew over, apparently on a routine inspection, and flew off.

"They didn't act like they were looking for us" Hope said, confused by soldiers actions.

"PSICOM is keeping this under wraps" Lightning explained "They haven't told the other divisions that there are fugitives to look for. They don't want to broadcast their failure."

Hope smiled, saying "That's good for us then!"

Approaching an entry way protected by an energy field, they paused for a rest and Hope verbally wondered how the others were doing.

"Sazh and Vanille?" Lightning questioned, then continued to say, "They'll be captured eventually." Lightning then starting thinking of Serah and said "Serah should be alright, Snow will take care of her. He's too stubborn to die."

Hope started to discuss his dislike for Snow and Lightning fed into Hopes feelings by telling him of her displeasures with Snow as well. She had no idea of Hope's secret and that she was contributing to his growing hatred that was inside of him for Snow.

The energy field on the entry way finally dissipated and allowed them to continue on their way. "This is the bio-complex," Lightning explained, "They turn wildlife into weapons here", as they rode the lift down to ground to face what lay ahead of them.

They had to battle wildlife, entrapped in enclosures, to proceed through the area. The enclosures were sealed off by force field beams that would only engage if the bio-creatures were detected. To turn them off, Lightning and Hope had to rid the enclosures of the creatures so they could continue. They fought and defeated the monsters from one enclosure to the other, until they could finally get to the platforms again.

"We'll rest here" Lightning told Hope, noticing he was winded and tired from the fighting.

She had lent him her survival knife to help him take care of himself, and while they were resting, Hope sat flicking the blade in and out with a hateful look in his eyes.

"What's eating at you?" she questioned, "Is it the l'cie thing?" He sat silently and didn't answer her. "It's Snow, isn't it? What happened with him?" Lightning asked as she knelt down on one knee, next to Hope.

He responded coldly, "He killed my mother." Then, went on to explain the story to Lightning. "I know it won't bring her back, but he has to pay for what he did. It's all his fault!" Hope said as he got to feet and walked away from Lightning.

"Hope, Snow didn't kill your mother, the Sanctum killed her." He became angry and yelled "Who's side are you on?" Lightning calmly replied to him "The side of truth."

He was still angry and her answer did nothing to make him see that his hate was mis-guided. "Fine!" he yelled back "Then I'll help you fight the Sanctum!"

His mother's name was Nora, so he decided to name his objective "Operation Nora", a mission of murder and revenge. Lightning did what she could to discourage Hope from this, but the boy refused to give in, as the hate had taken over any rational thoughts, festering within him like a disease.

They proceeded on the platforms for short time, when they again found themselves being lead back into the enclosures of trapped beasts. The progression was slow as they fought their way through the bio-engineered wildlife. When they finally spotted a path to get back on the platforms, Hope was too slow getting through one of the force fields and set off an intruder alert.

"Troops will be coming for us" Lightning told him, "Keep your eyes sharp."

Hope nodded he understood as the two made it back to the platforms, hastening their pace to reach the exit of the complex. Lightning was right, as they started to encounter soldiers investigating the cause of the alarm being tripped.

"There has to be a way to get through to him." she thought as they started to approach the exit out of the complex, "Perhaps talking to his father would persuade him, if she could get him there safely."

After exiting the complex, she walked up to the edge of a large lake. Its water was as smooth as glass and reflected distorted images of the scenery around it. A city lay directly across the lake and Hope said excitedly "That's it. Palumpolum!"

Lightning asked, "That's where you live, right?"

"Yah" he responded, becoming melancholy.

"We'll stop in and see your Dad." she said in a matter of fact tone.

"No", Hope said "l'cie won't be welcome there."

Lightning sternly responded to him "Hope, he needs to know what has happened." Hope hung his head in silence, convinced that his Dad didn't care about him and wouldn't allow a l'cie in his house.

Their trip through the woods to Palumpolum took them about an hour and was remarkably uneventful. There were no soldiers or monsters to fight off and this had Lightning concerned, although it felt good to proceed without constantly fighting.

"Something's off" she finally said to Hope. "There should be Guardian Corps patrols on guard out here and there is nothing."

They had made it to the out skirts of Palumpolum and discovered why the GC patrols were not where they should have been.

"I knew something was wrong" Lightning told Hope as they hid behind some equipment. "PSICOM has taken jurisdiction of the city. They knew we were coming and made it easy for us, thinking we would walk right into their hands."

Hope told her of an old tunnel system that existed and hadn't been used in years. "We could make our way through the city using it and avoid the soldiers."

She agreed, as Hope took the lead and got them into the tunnel system. They made their way through the tunnels, only encountering a few PSICOM soldiers that were easily handled.

The system of tunnels came to an end at a huge door, pushing it open; they entered the Nutriculture Complex the fal'Cie had constructed to feed the inhabitants of Cocoon. The door swung shut behind them with a bang and Lightning turned back to look at the door.

"Don't worry, nobody knows about the tunnels except kids like me" Hope told her.

"They will put units together and search every inch of the tunnels" Lightning responded, looking back at Hope.

"We better get going then" Hope said as he started walking along the short platform. There were control panels at the end of the platforms that, when activated, would move floating platforms to them, transporting them to other platforms in the area.

Here, they met different enemies, mostly large Flans that guarded the area and could cast cure, which made it more difficult to overcome a group of them. One nasty beast, that they avoided confrontations with, was a lizard like creature with armored scales that were almost impossible to penetrate. It was slow and easy to dodge, so they opted to dodge this monster whenever they encountered the beast.

They stopped in front of the fal'Cie that controlled the plant, Hope told Lightning that its name was Carbuncle and mused it was a Cocoon fal'Cie and their enemy now. After some discussion, Hope said that the fal'Cie always provided for them, as if they were pets.

These words struck Lightning as she repeated "Like pets. Of course, it all makes sense now", she continued, "I was born to a fal'Cie world and led on a fal'Cie leash, then all this happened and it took everything from me. My master was gone, my future, my life had no purpose, all I had left was to fight. Everything was alright as long as I was fighting. And you Hope, you got swept away with me!"

"I don't understand what you're talking about, Light" he said with a confused look on his face.

"Hope" she said as she turned quickly to face him, "Operation Nora is over."

Hope was shocked and yelled "What!? But you said we had to fight. You can't just stop now!"

"I was wrong, OK?" she responded, with a wrenching feeling in her gut. She hated to admit she was wrong about anything, but she had to admit it to Hope to make him understand they were taking the wrong path.

"So what now?" he asked "What are we supposed to do? Just give up and wait to die?"

"I didn't mean to give up" she explained "We just can't fight for the sake of fighting; we have to think this out. Serah was trying to tell us that, back at Lake Bresha."

Hope was angry and confused, shouting "So who do we fight?"

"I don't know yet" she said, turning her head to the side.

"You don't know, yet!" he shouted.

"No! I don't know yet" she shouted back.

There was silence between the two for a short while, both trying to decide what they were going to do, when Lightning broke the silence by saying, "I was just like you when my parents died. Forgot about my past and changed my name to become Lightning, to be strong for Serah. I was just a kid."

She paused, with arms folded in front of her, staring out over the shifting platforms. Finally she said "Lightning, it flashes bright then fades away. It can't protect. It only destroys. Serah tried to tell me, but I wouldn't listen, eventually I even pushed her away from me."

Hope wasn't about to put an end to 'Operation Nora', no matter what Lightning or anyone else said to him. It was what drove him and was all he could think about. Hate is a hard emotion to rid ones' self of. It manifests itself into unreasonable conclusions, justifying the most inhumane acts to satisfy the desires of its owner.

Lightning knew this and told Hope that she wanted him to find the hope he was named for. "To fight without hope, is fighting to die." she told him and continued to say "You need to talk to your father, I can't give you the hope you need, I can only show you how to fight."

They reached the lift that would take them up and into the city; they got on and headed up, neither knowing where in the city they would arrive.

* * *

_Sazh and Vanille_

Soon, Sazh and Vanille heard a big blast and turned to see a big cloud of smoke rise from the direction that Hope and Lightning had just gone. "Do you think they're OK?" Vanille asked.

"Hope so" Sazh stated, with a worried look on his face.

"If we go back, we would probably just be in her way" Vanille suggested.

"Yeah, you're probably right. It is Lightning were talking about, yah know." Sazh replied, as he looked towards the direction they were headed.

They turned to continue on their path in the other direction to find a way out of the Ville Peaks. The monsters they encountered were increasingly harder to defeat with only the two of them left to fight. They came up with new strategies to use and learned new magic techniques to overcome their weaknesses. The more they fought, the stronger they became, increasing the confidence they had in their skills.

Walking into the scrap metal processing area, there were platforms they needed to descend in order to reach the main facility. Each platform had a control panel to extend the stairs to platform below and was guarded by a variety of robots, bombs and monsters. They fought their way down, Sazh working the control panels, only to find the main power was shut down and they couldn't proceed until they could turn it back on.

"We just can't cut a break, can we?" he turned to Vanille and said. She put her arms out and shrugged her shoulders at him. "Well, let's figure this out" he said as he smiled. There were three control panels, each on its own platform and heavily guarded by bombs and robots.

They had to fight at each platform to gain access to the control panels and hopefully start the power generator that would let them proceed. At the last one, Sazh worked the panel and the huge power producing generator lifted up and started spinning.

"It's alive!" Sazh shouted and Vanille shouted "You did it!"

The gate impeding their progress opened as robots and bombs came from the other side to engage them in battle. "Looks like that wasn't the only thing we woke up" Sazh commented, thinking how their luck hadn't changed much.

"We can take em!" Vanille yelled enthusiastically as she ran up to Sazh to engage in the battle.

"Finally, we made it!" Vanille screeched as she ran through the gate and along a long narrow passageway. They came out a small clearing and, as they were both were feeling tired, Sazh asked "We have to sleep somewhere, how does look?"

"Fine by me" Vanille said as she pulled out her sleeping bag and spread it on the ground. "Good night!" she pleasantly greeted Sazh.

Sazh walked towards her and she jumped up and, grabbing a stick, drew a line in the dirt in front of her. "Do not cross this line" she told him, holding her hands up to him.

"What?" Sazh looked at her with a confused look, then said "Grow up!" with his hands on his hips and shaking his head.

He spread his sleeping bag on the ground and fell immediately asleep. He awoke to the sounds of sobbing to discover Vanille had moved up against his back and was crying in her sleep. "Still just a kid" he thought to himself, as he fell back asleep.

They ate the last of their rations, then started walking, at last leaving the Ville Peaks area. Vanille led the way and Sazh just followed, thinking she knew where she was going. They found themselves in the Sunleth Waterscape area and Vanille loved it there, as it reminded her of her home back on Gran Pulse.

She breathed in the air, giggling in the high pitched voice of hers, and twirled around like a child on a playground. "Where are we headed?" Sazh asked, as he looked around at the area they just entered.

"Don't know" she replied, still giggling.

"You don't know! I thought you knew where you going the way you took off like that!" he said in exasperation.

"I followed the smell," she said giggling "All naturery!"

"Smells damp and musty" Sazh remarked "and I think something bit me."

"Hide!" Vanille cried out as she looked up to the sky. Three large airships flew over them and Sazh remarked "Skyfleet, and they're headed to Palumpolum. That is not good. I wonder if those two were caught in the net."

"What do we do?" Vanille asked.

"Right now, what can we do?" Sazh answered.

"Then we should run" Vanille proclaimed "the other way." Sazh turned and stared at the path that laid in the other direction – Nautilus – his thoughts drifting back to a promise he had made not so long ago.

"That would be Nautilus" he finally said and started walking in that direction, still thinking about the promise and the events that surrounded it. Vanille noticed the trance like state that came over Sazh, and silently followed him until they spotted some flan blocking the path, when Sazh broke the silence.

"There's something I didn't want to see" he remarked, as he pulled his guns to prepare for the fight.

They fought a lot of Flan, they seemed to be everywhere the two went. Sazh even commented that it must have been a "bumper crop" for them that year. They fought leaping frog-like creatures and other monsters along the way, before exiting the forested area to beautiful wide open space.

They could see the landscape for miles from where they stood. There were hills covered with trees, meadows, and lakes with outcropping of rocks. As they stood looking at the breathtaking beauty before them, Vanille asked "Tell me about yourself Sazh, you know, do you have any family?"

"I have a son" he reluctantly responded. "Oh, so you're married!" Vanille squealed. "Well, I was" he said quietly.

"We have to get you home, you're son needs you!" she replied. "I don't know about that" he replied, turning away from her. "Why, because of the l'cie thing, that doesn't stop you from being a Dad. What's his name?"

He paused a long while, staring over the scenery before answering "Dajh" he replied "his name is Dajh."

"Come on, Pops, we better get going" Vanille urged as she took off running down the trail.

"Great, now I've got kids looking after me, some Dad I am." he said to himself as he started walking after Vanille.

The monsters were getting fiercer as they proceeded and they dodged the slow moving scaled lizards whenever they could. The wildlife in the area was abundant and they were fighting many battles to make it through the area.

They finally came to a lake and Sazh needed a nap, lying down in the lush grass facing the water. Vanille decided she may as well catch some sleep too, since the area seemed relatively safe from any beasts. When she awoke, Sazh was nowhere in sight, but the chocobo chick was with her and started flying in the direction of Sazh, so Vanille followed and found him looking over the water.

His thoughts were far away when she startled him back to the reality they were facing by speaking his name.

"Sazh, are you alright?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Just thinking" he replied.

"You know, we can't help who gets chosen to become a l'cie" Vanille told Sazh, trying to make him feel better.

"My son was chosen, Dajh is a Sanctum l'cie" Sazh finally told Vanille, and went on to explain that Dahj had been branded by the Cocoon fal-Cie at the power plant when the Pulse l'cie caused the explosion there.

"The Sanctum was brought in to try to determine what his focus might be, since he was so young and unable to understand the whole mess. He had acquired an ability to sense anything Pulse after that. He's the one that lead them to discover the Pulse fal'Cie. They reasoned his focus was to find Pulse l'cie. Pretty soon, the Sanctum wouldn't even let me see him, saying I was a distraction to their efforts to discovering his focus. That's when I put myself on that Purge train, thinking I might be able to fight the l'cie and finish his focus for him and you can see how well that worked out." he sadly said as he lowered his head.

Vanille didn't say much, except how sorry she was for him. She didn't tell him it was her and Fang that was responsible for the explosion that ended up with his son being branded. She had remained silent about everything she knew and just kept running hoping the truth would never catch up to her.

"We should get moving, don't you think?" she asked Sazh.

"Yeah, we should be almost there" he said as he starting walking along the path again to reach Nautilus.


	12. Chapter 12 - Nautilus

_This chapter will bring Sazh and Vanille into Nautilus and continue until they are captured by PSICOM. Thanks for reading - reviews are welcome..._

* * *

As they trekked along, the beautiful lush scenery was gradually changing to more rocky terrain and ahead of them was a strange glowing orb that seemed to float a few feet above the ground.

"What do you suppose this is?" Sazh asked as they approached closer to the orb. Vanille reached out with her finger to cautiously touch the orb to see what it would do.

The orb popped like a soap bubble and immediately it started to rain.

"How about that," Sazh commented, "a device that brings bad weather, how cute." Vanille and Sazh looked at one another and both shrugged their shoulders at such a silly device.

"Look" Vanille said as she pointed to some Flan on a nearby hill, "they're leaving." The Flan didn't like the rain and were slithering off to find shelter.

"Yeah, but look who's coming out to play in the rain" Sazh responded to her, as they watched the jumping frog-like creatures move into the space vacated by the Flan.

"Come on" Sazh suggested "Let's get a going before we're drenched" as they headed for the hill to take on the frogs so they could proceed on their journey to Nautilus. They found more of the orbs along the way, and switched the weather between rain and sunshine, depending on what kind of opponents they were facing to fight at the time.

"Just a hop, skip and a jump" Sazh exclaimed "and we'll be heading into Nautilus" as he pointed to what looked to be a big passageway.

"The city of Dreams" Vanille finished the sentence for him and they walked into the entrance. "This is not good" Sazh whispered to Vanille. "What should we do?" she whispered back.

They had walked into two large sleeping monsters, known as an Enik and an Enlil. They were odd looking creatures, huge in stature and were covered with matted long hair. The creatures spent most of their time in the sea which is why they always reeked of smelly fish.

"Sneak" Sazh softly whispered to Vanille. She nodded her head and the two tried to slowly and silently tip-toe past the monsters without waking them, but their luck being what it was, the monsters woke up before they could make it past them.

Sazh shouted in frustration "Just once you would think we could cut a break!" as he pulled his guns to start fighting.

It was a drawn out strategic battle, as they had to use different magic on each monster.

Sazh yelled "Let's go for the little one first," as he started casting his protective magic first and Vanille cast her sabotaging magic, then switching to offensive magic. Sazh switched between his guns and offensive magic, then back to protective magic if they needed it. They were victorious in the end, and they felt quite proud of themselves being able to defeat the monsters on their own.

"We did it, Pops!" Vanille exclaimed. "Yep! We showed them, didn't we! he responded with a smile.

After exiting the large passageway, they ran down to a fence that surrounded the ship dock that would take them to Nautilus. "There has to be a hole in this fence somewhere" Sazh told Vanille, as he was becoming irritated by the situation.

"I'll look down this way" Vanille responded, pointing to the opposite end of the fence. Shortly, she shouted "Down here, I found a way in!" and Sazh came running to join her as they passed through a large hole in the fence to reach the ship dock.

It began to pour rain just as they went through the fence and ran under the cover, at the dock, to keep from becoming soaked.

"When it rains here, it pours. Then, it rains some more." Sazh commented lightheartedly. Vanille giggled at his remark, then sat down on one of the benches and began to ask Sazh questions about how he felt about Pulse.

"Sazh, do you hate Pulse, too?" She asked quietly, wrenching her hands in lap.

"Yeah, at first, but then, as I got older, I figured it was just a Sanctum scare tactic to keep people in line" he explained "There was never a shred of proof to prove what they said. That is, until we got drug into this mess."

As Sazh explained, he didn't realize how much his answers were hurting Vanille, as she had come to love Cocoon and didn't want to harm anyone on it. But, because she was a Pulse l'cie, everyone would hate and despise her anywhere she went, including her new friends. She had held back the tears until she could no longer bear the pain of it all.

She jumped up and ran out into the rain and Sazh was surprised by her actions "Are you alright? You're going to get drenched out there" he said to her in a confused tone.

She turned to him and raised her head to the rain to cover the tears that were streaming down her face. "I'm just fine" she responded, but not in her typical whimsical voice "It's only water."

They entered Nautilus and Vanille was so intrigued with everything, she had never seen anything like it before. Floating figures of holograms would land in her hands and she giggled like a child at them. They watched the parade that was a re-enactment of the War of Transgression and Cocoons victory over Ragnarok, which brought tears to her eyes, once more.

They spent a lot of time taking in the park and the activities, Sazh wanted to allow the girl to have some fun and he needed time to think about what he was going to do. They took an underwater orb to reach the Chocobo Park and Vanille was ecstatic when they were standing at the entrance.

Sazh commented "I promised Dajh I would bring him here one day; at least maybe I'll be able to tell him about it."

"Pee-ew!" Sazh said, holding his nose as they entered the Chocobo Park, "Glad I don't work here!"

Vanille on the other hand, walked onto the grass and spread her arms out, closed her eyes and breathed in the smells around her and listened to the sounds of sheep and Chocobo's. For that short moment she was back home on Pulse, the smells and the sounds brought memories rushing back to her as a smile came across her face.

The Chocobo chick was also excited to see all the Chocobo's and was flying from place to place. Sazh was busy trying to chase the bird all over the park, not wanting to lose track of it. Vanille had found a small flock of sheep and was standing in the middle of them, swaying to the music of their soothing bleating sounds.

The Chocobo chick soon flew back to the safety of Sazh's afro and he caught up to Vanille as she was hugging and petting a Chocobo.

He told Vanille that he had made up his mind what he was going to do, "I've decided I'm going to turn myself in. I'm done with all this running, the focus, all of it. I'll ask for a last request to see Dajh, to tell him about the Chocobo's we saw today. He'll like that." Sazh expressed to Vanille in a melancholy voice.

"Of course, I'll make sure you're safe and far away first before I do." he added, to ease any worry she had of being captured.

"You can't do that!" she loudly protested, "I know who's responsible for turning your son into a l'cie, you have to get revenge, don't you?"

"You know!?" Sazh questioned "Who is it Vanille, tell me!" Vanille begin to stutter out the answer "It was….It was…." Her answer was cut off by Chocobos stampeding by them, then by gun fire from soldiers that had discovered their location.

"What, soldiers? Run Vanille!" Sazh yelled, pulling his guns as he shot back, then ran to escape the oncoming troops.

They fought and ran their way through the park, trying to escape the onslaught of troops. They found themselves trapped at the Fiendlord's Keep by one of the military's 'little toys' and had no choice but to fight to keep themselves alive. After a furious fight, the thing collapsed into a pile non-functioning scrap metal.

"Whew!" Sazh exclaimed, feeling the exhaustion of the battle.

Suddenly, Dajh came running out of nowhere yelling "Daddy!" and wrapped his little arms around his father's legs. "Gotcha!" he gleefully exclaimed.

Sazh was amazed and grateful to see his son and knelt down to hug the boy. "Dajh," asked Sazh "how did you get here?" "Because you promised" Dajh answered, with his heartwarming smile displayed across his face.

The boy turned to crystal before their very eyes. "Dajh!" Sazh screamed "No, Dajh, not you!" Sazh could feel the ache in his heart and fought back the tears he felt welling up in his eyes. The crystalized boy rose into the air and Sazh yelled, "Dajh, come back!"

Vanille gasped a sad sound of remorse and raised her hand to her face, as she watched the little boy turning to crystal. As the boy floated back to the floor, Sazh tried to touch him, but was shocked by the energy still pulsing through the crystalized little boy.

Jihl Nabaat, Sanctum Officer in charge of Dajh since the time he had been branded a Cocoon l'cie, arrived with her troops and surrounded Sazh and Vanille, leaving them nowhere to run.

"Seems the boys focus was to aid in the discovery of Pulse l'cie" she wickedly said to Sazh. "He provided us valuable information on your location and that's how we were able to track you. You must be proud, he served us admirably."

She then tossed a security video to the floor to show Sazh who the Pulse l'cie were that caused his son to be branded.

"Would you like to see who was responsible for your son being branded? It's a little grainy, but I'm sure you recognize that one. The very one you have been protecting this entire time" she told him as she smirked and enjoyed every second of the misery she was causing.

Vanille gasped, seeing herself and Fang in the video and, with tears streaming down her face, ran into the Fiendlord's Keep. She was crying from the guilt she felt for the boy and everything else that had happened since waking out of her long crystal stasis. "If only we hadn't woke up, none of this would have happened." she thought.

Directly in front of her, an image of Sazh suddenly appeared on a throne, with his guns drawn down on her. "You lie, using people as shields, destroying their lives to protect your own. You don't deserve to live" the image said to her then fired a round of gun blasts at her.

She twirled around and fell to her hands and knees, discovering she hadn't been shot at all and it was all just an illusion. Returning to her feet, she faced the image once more as it said "If you can't live with the guilt, then die with it."

She was horrified with what the image had said, watching it vanish as quickly as it had appeared. Slumping down onto her legs to the floor and resting her chin in her chest, she felt the utter helplessness and despair of her plight.

The PSICOM soldiers wanted to pursue Vanille, but Nabaat stopped them. She had a more 'interesting' way of dealing with the situation. Nabaat baited Sazh by asking him if he wanted to take his revenge, or should they finish the job for him.

Sazh jumped to his feet, with a look of hatred in his eyes, and ran off after Vanille with revenge in his heart for his son. He held his hand to his chest as his brand had started burning and causing him some pain.

"What now?" one of the soldiers asked. Nabaat told the soldiers to follow and observe. "Let us see what happens when l'cie kills one of its own." She said to them, with no concern of the torture and pain she was causing for Sazh and Vanille. They were only test subjects to her, as was poor little Dajh. Her soul was as cold and heartless as they get.

Sazh ran up to Vanille as she sat on her legs on the floor, and pointed his guns at her.

She rose to her feet, spread her arms, and said "My name is Oerba Dia Vanille and I am a Pulse l'cie; and to everyone on Cocoon – Evil", then closed her eyes to accept her fate. "It will finally be over", she thought "No more pain, no more running, no more guilt, and no more focus."

But Sazh couldn't shoot her, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how furious he was; he could not shoot her in cold blood. He had spent so much time with her, trying to protect her from harm and thought of her like a daughter.

"What, you think you die and that will make everything better?" he yelled at her in frustration over what he was feeling, still holding his hand on his chest as it intensified in pain.

"If I'm not supposed to live and I'm not supposed to die, what I'm I supposed to do?" she asked, confused and bewildered.

"I don't know. You figure it out!" Sazh yelled back as his brand was causing him more and more pain.

"I don't know!" she shouted back, tears in her eyes and totally frustrated at the conundrum.

He lowered his weapons and fell to ground in utter despair of his situation. His brand delivered such pain it made him cry out then flattened him to the ground. He was not going to defend himself against the Eidolon that blazed with fire above him, wielding a large bludgeon type weapon.

"Do your worst you freak!" Sazh screamed at the massive female figure in front of him. This would be his way out of the misery and hopelessness he was feeling.

Vanille ran over and placed herself between Brynhildr and Sazh with her arms spread out in a defensive manner. Sazh couldn't let her fight in his behalf by herself and rose to his feet, pulling his weapons and began to fire.

Vanille looked at him and pulled her weapon also, and the two proceeded to battle the Eidolon together. When Brynhildr finally yielded to Sazh, she transformed herself into a glowing reddish-orange sports car before dissipating and disappearing.

He pointed his gun at Vanille once more, and once more she spread her arms and closed her eyes to accept her fate.

"You can be forgiven for a lot of things, but shooting kids isn't one of them" he said, as he lowered his weapon.

Vanille slumped to floor once more, with her head hung low. The Chocobo chick was with her and started going erratic, making her glance up at Sazh. She gasped in terror at what she saw and tears filled her eyes as she looked quickly away.

Sazh was still in despair and put his gun against his head and said "Enough is enough" and fired, but at the last minute he pointed the gun up hitting an object in the distance.

He dropped his weapons to the floor then he fell to his knees sobbing, pounding the floor with his fists, crying out "Why can't I do it? Why? I have nothing to live for!"

Vanille got to her feet and ran over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders then calling his name in an attempt to comfort him in his time of despair and emotional pain.

Nabaat and her troops surrounded them once again as the troopers grabbed Vanille and Sazh by each arm and twisted them backwards. forcing the two to their knees in front of Nabaat. She started taunting Sazh about erecting a monument for his son and putting his crystal on display, which threw Sazh in such a rage, she whacked him with her baton across the neck, rendering him unconscious.

The troops took them prisoners, placing Vanille in a prison robe and Sazh in a gurney transport, then escorted them onto the PSICOM ship that was destined for the Palamecia, a huge airship that served as the Sanctums Skyfleet base of operations.

Nabaat was so pleased with herself; she found the episode quite informative and entertaining. She couldn't wait to get her hands on the rest of the fugitives, thinking of interesting ways to 'gain more information on Pulse l'cie'.


	13. Chapter 13 - Showdown at Palumpolum

_This chapter takes up with Lightning and Hope going up the lift into the city of Palumpolum, not knowing where they will come out and Snow, Serah, and Fang coming to the rescue, ending up at Hope's fathers' home. _

_Thanks for reading – Let me know what you think – Please Review :)_

* * *

The warship undocked from the Lindblum and began its mission to intercept the Pulse l'cie that were reported to be in the city of Palumpolum. Aboard were Snow, Serah, Fang and Rygdea as the war bird sped off to the city. Rygdea usually hung around Fang a lot and the two would always disappear together, which made Serah highly suspicious of the two.

"Snow, those two are gone again, do you think they're plotting something other than what they are telling us?" Serah asked him with a worried look on her face.

Snow smiled at her and said "Nah, I don't think so, baby." as he walked up to her and put his hand to her face.

She raised her hand and placed it on his, when it occurred to her what he was hinting at. "Do you mean they…" she started to say, with Snow cutting her off, "Yep!"

Serah smiled at him and said "Oh, OK, I get it" and let out a little chuckle, "I never thought about that."

"I hope we can reach them in time, Snow." she said, the concern in her voice was undeniable.

"We will," Snow responded and put a reassuring arm around her, "We'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe."

Serah smiled and nodded her head to him. He always knew how to calm her, to reassure her when she doubted herself. "We will do this" she thought "there is no room for doubt"

_Meanwhile…._

The lift had reached its destination with Lightning and Hope onboard, depositing them onto a deserted plaza in the middle of the city. An announcement was being broadcast about the Sanctum planning to apprehend the fugitive l'cie and carry out a public execution, going on to say 'that these images are coming to you live from the scene in Palumpolum'.

The building in front of them was designed to be a massive video display and was displaying the images the announcement was referring to. Lightning and Hope were shocked to find themselves being displayed on the building. They were the fugitive l'cie that was going to be executed.

Suddenly, they were surrounded from all sides with troopers, while airships descended upon them from the sky. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, Lightning felt an angry frustration coming over her, then heard a man's voice speaking to the troops "These are l'cie, show no mercy. They aren't people, they're targets."

Fury rose in her heart at hearing this, and resolved they would not take her down without a fight, she would die fighting, not as a prisoner put up for display and slaughtered at will. Hope was terrified, there was no escape and there was no way to fight to survive. He backed himself up against Lightning's back and the two stood, back to back, surveying the situation.

Lightning said "Start running, I'll keep them busy" to Hope, as she accepted her fate and wanted to save Hope, if she could.

Hope turned staring at her, stunned and not knowing what to say "But, I…" he started to say, but Lightning interrupted him "You survive" she said, holding her blade high, and ready to start the attack on the soldiers.

Hope took a few steps back from her, but couldn't decide whether to stay and die or try to run.

_Back on the Warship….._

When they arrived at their destination, they found they were too late to intercept Lightning and Hope as PSICOM already had them surrounded with troops and airships of all kinds. The warship could do nothing but drop the three l'cie as close to the engagement as possible to attempt a rescue.

The three were as silent as possible, moving quickly through the tunnel system until they found themselves as close as they needed to be. They blasted their way through the tunnel wall with a large bang, causing a distraction allowing Lightning to go into action. The blast caused Hope to turn and duck his head, then quickly looking back to where the explosion occurred.

Snow took out three guards that stood in front of them, two with his fists and kicking the third, grabbing the gun of the third as it returned from mid-air.

"That's some crowd. " Fang said, as she appeared from the smoke of the explosion, "Gonna need a plan."

Snow chuckled, and then said "Since when have hero's ever needed plans?" He used the gun to shoot the blue crystal he had tossed high into the air then yelled "Fang!" and threw the gun to Fang.

A huge blue sphere appeared from the crystal and sent icy streamers at the soldiers, taking half of them down, then covered the area in icy pathways, causing panic within the ranks of the remaining troops, as they broke rank, running in all directions.

The Silva Sisters then burst through the sphere and Snow hopped over the railing, grabbing onto the handlebars as the sisters were transforming into the motorcycle in mid-air. As Snow sped down the icy pathways, Fang hopped on the back of the bike with him and was shooting at every soldier she could see. The troopers were firing on them, but the magic of the bike protected them from being injured.

Serah took her position at the site of their explosion and had loaded her bow with the armor-piercing arrows. The bow self-loaded the deadly arrows as she took aim at a warship that had opened its firing bay, shooting dead center into the bay, followed a second arrow which caused the ship to explode into a massive ball of fire and shooting embers of flame high into the sky.

Another ship was disabled that was too close to the massive explosion, and it turned to retreat with towering billows of smoke filling the air from the damage it took. The adrenaline shot through her veins as she had never felt before, as she took aim and kept shooting at another ship, disabling its firing turrets, as it too retreated from the battle, no longer being able to use its weapons.

A couple of soldiers came running towards her and she pulled the energy pulse gun she had strapped to her leg then blasted them away from her and over the railing, all with one shot. It was a weapon that was only good at close range, much like a shotgun, only shooting energy bursts instead of bullets. The gun was small and light which was perfect for her to use.

Lightning was battling the troops with her blade, her blitz taking out several of them at a time. Snow was rendering everything to frozen particles with the bike and Fang continued firing the gun on everything that moved, forcing the PSICOM leader to retreat from the area as quickly as possible.

Serah continued shooting with her bow, shooting down anything that flew, including the troops flying with the graviton packs on their backs. Snow and Fang shot off the icy pathway and over the heads of Lightning and Hope, coming to rest on the ground and spinning the bike to face the two. Snow brought the bike to a screeching halt, shouting with a grin on his face "Lightning!" as he gave her a wink and click of his tongue.

"Who is this?" Lightning shouted, pointing to Fang, "and where the hell is Serah!?"

Just then, Serah was running towards them after sliding down one of the icy pathways. Lightning was gripped with relief at seeing her and the four of them quickly ran for cover as some of the troops were getting back on their feet.

Snow, still on the bike, yelled "Lets cool 'em down!" as he spun the bike in a circle and iced them all into eternal silence. The sisters transformed back to their female shapes and blew Snow a kiss. Snow threw up his hand and responded gratefully, "Way to go!" as they gracefully rose into the sky and vanished, waiting until the next time they would be called upon by their chosen l'cie.

Snow caught up to others and together they ran until they found a safe place to hide. Fang told Lightning and Hope the story of her and Vanille's plight. They all told one another of the events that occurred after their separation at Lake Bresha.

Lightning was impressed with Serah's choice of weapons, but was confused by the daggers that hung from her belt on each side of her hip. "Serah, why the knives?" she asked "You don't know how to use those, you could hurt yourself."

Serah just smiled, Snow had to turn away to keep Lightning from seeing the smirk on his face. Hope wasn't sure what to make of Serah at the moment; she sure didn't look like the defenseless girl he knew before they became separated at the Lake Bresha.

They were headed to Hope's home so he could see his father, carefully making their way through the back streets and alley ways to avoid the troops that were stationed everywhere. The three women crossed an alley way, when shots rang out, forcing them to run forward, Snow and Hope were forced to turn around and run in another direction. The team had once more become separated from each other which would make it more difficult to defend themselves and conquer their foes.

Once safe, Fang contacted Snow on the communicators they received from the Calvary and they agreed to meet up at Hopes house. Lightning tried to talk to Snow about Hope's plan to take revenge on him, but the communicators were picking up too much interference for Lightning to relay her message.

Snow and Hope had finally made it to a rooftop when Hope decided it was time to extract his revenge for the demise of his mother. After a few minutes of heated argument between the two, Hopes rage burst forth a blast of energy that threw Snow over the edge of the building, as he grabbed onto the ledge before falling to a concrete yard below.

As Hope took out Lightning's knife and flicked open the blade, he told Snow that Nora was his mother and he blamed Snow for her death. Snow then realized that Hope was the kid that the woman had asked Snow to "get home".

Just as Hope raised the knife to kill Snow, a blast from a PSICOM warship hit the building behind Hope, throwing him over the edge of the building and plummeting towards the ground below.

Snow let go of the edge of the building and grabbed an unconscious Hope and held him tightly to protect him from the fall. Snow crashed through some awnings, then a pile of boxes before rolling unconscious onto the cold concrete street.

When he came to and tried to get up, he discovered he'd broken some ribs and his leg was in pain. Hope was still out, so he painfully put him on his back to carry him, as they had to keep moving to stay alive. He found Lightning's knife and tucked it inside his coat, as he slowly started out in the direction of Hopes home to meet up with the others.

The three women were trying to reach Snow with the communicator with no luck, when they saw the explosion in the distance and knew that the army had found Snow and Hope. They took off on a run and when they arrived, they found Hope battling a PSICOM ship by himself and Snow lying unconscious up against a concrete pillar.

Lightning and Fang joined the fight with Hope as Serah rushed to Snow's aid, tears welling up in her eyes, looking at him hurt and unconscious. "Oh please, let him be alright" she thought "as she tried to revive him and looking for injuries.

The ship was defeated and Hope returned the knife to Lightning telling her "Operation Nora didn't work out." Lightning was relieved to hear him say that and gave him a hug as she took back her knife.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you" She told the boy. Hope responded, "Me too, I mean, I'll try to watch out for you, too."

They all joined Serah to check on Snow to discover that, though injured, he would be alright with some rest.

"He'll be alright, Serah" Lightning assured her "He's too stubborn die." They picked him up and, with Lightning supporting him on one side and Serah on the other side; they headed once again for Hopes home.

Snow woke up to find himself lying on a bed in a strange room with bandages wrapped around his rib cage. He tried to rise to find the pain was almost unbearable, Lightning immediately told him to lie back down. He didn't argue with her, he just said "OK" very quickly as he lay back down with his hands behind his head.

Serah was there by his side and she smiled reassuringly at him as she stroked his arm to comfort him. She felt such relief at his awakening, and fought back the tears of joy that were forming in her eyes.

Snow noticed Lightning had her knife in her hand and said "I see you took the kids toy away."

"Nah, he gave it back to me, said he didn't need it anymore" she said reflectively.

"Imagine that" Snow said as he reached his hand out to hold Serah's hand.

"Snow," Lightning started saying slowly as she turned to Snow and Serah, "I'm sorry".

Snow looked at her surprised and said "for what?"

Serah was almost dumbfounded at what she had just heard. She could count on one hand how many times she had heard those words come out of Lightning's mouth and she was sure she had never heard them directed at anyone else but herself before.

"For everything" she continued, "I disliked you because I saw you as a renegade, doing things your own way, rejecting the Sanctums rules. You saw the life the Sanctum established for us was wrong. If everyone had been more independent, like you, maybe things would be different" Lightning then added "Can you forgive me?"

Snow responded with a request "Uh, maybe, if you tell me your real name."

Lightning grinned and looked at Snow "You already know it, I can tell by the look on Serah's face."

Serah got up and ran over to Lightning, hugging her sister and whispered to her "I love you, Light. I've never been as proud of you as I am right now."

Lightning hugged her back, not pushing her away this time "I love you too, Serah. I hope you will forgive me too for time I never spent with you, I promise that will change from now on."

Serah felt tears of happiness streaking down her face as she said "There's nothing to forgive; you did the best you could do for us and I will never forget the sacrifice you've made for me."

A knock came at the door and it was Hope, his father wanted to talk to them all, so Lightning and Serah helped Snow get up and get his coat on, as they all walked out to the living room.

Hope and his father had talked a long time and it made Hope realize that he had never truly listened to his father before, just as he thought his father had never listened to him and found he had a new respect for him.

Snow sat in a chair and took full responsibility for Nora's demise, and said how sorry he was that he could not save her. Hopes father asked if she had said anything, Snow responded by repeating her words to him "get him home."

Hopes father paused at the words and said to Snow "And that's exactly what you have done, and I thank you for that." Snow and the group were relieved to find that Hope's father saw the situation for what is was; there was no malice involved, just a set of unfortunate circumstances that was out of anyone's control.

They started to discuss a way out of the l'cie dilemma, when the lights went out and Lightning hollered "Heads up" as PSICOM troops came crashing into the room from the skylights above. Hope asked Snow to watch over his dad in the other room since Snow was in no condition to fight yet, and didn't want his dad to be alone.

They all went into action, Lightning and Fang wielded their weapons and Hope was throwing offensive and defensive magic. Serah pulled her daggers, slashing with the right and stabbing with the left. This did not go un-noticed by Lightning, "I should have known, she wouldn't have chosen weapons that she couldn't use" she thought.

The room grew quiet so Snow and Hopes father returned to find the group peeking out the door at a massive amount of troops that had surrounded the house. A blinding light from a PSICOM warship hit the front of the house, as they all shielded their eyes from it.

"My turn" Snow said as he slipped his coat off and with his back to the wall dangled his coat into the doorway. The troops opened fire and filled his coat with bullet holes and Snow yelled "Don't Shoot! "Do you want to see what a l'cie really looks like!" as he stepped out into the doorway to face the troops.

Serah almost fainted from fright not knowing whether they would open fire on Snow and kill him on the spot.

"This is what a l'cie looks like, I'm flesh and blood, just like you!" Snow yelled, "We were born on Cocoon, this is our home and we want to protect it just as much as you do!"

A man walked from the back of troops towards the house saying "You must be Snow Villiers; I'm Lieutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch, PSICOM division".

There was a lengthy exchange of heated words between Rosch and Snow and Snow finally yelled "Aw, Cut the crap. You want to kill l'cie, then kill l'cie, but leave innocent people alone, why do they have to die!"

Just then, a canister of gas was thrown between the troops and Snow, then a blast of gun fire rang out taking down the PSICOM troops, including Rosch.

Snow, with pain in his ribs and now coughing from the gas, stood in front of the warship that had appeared earlier.

"Dammit!" he loudly muttered, out of pure frustration at his situation. The others came rushing out the door to come to his aid, and he said "I can handle a little gas" still coughing and holding his ribs in pain.

They focused on the weapons turrets, Serah hitting them up with the arrows and the others taking them out one by one. Hope was casting cure and protect on the group to keep them safe from the ships attacks. Without operational weapons, the ship was easier to take down as they made direct hits to the ship itself.

It listed to one side and, with fire blazing from the top, it started to fall from sight. The group all sighed a sound of relief that they had defeated the ship. Suddenly, another arose in front of them to take the place of the defeated one, and Fang yelled "Another one?! These guys just won't give up!"

A ship had appeared behind the one in front of them and opened fire on it, taking it down in one shot. As the ship landed, troops came walking out in PSICOM uniforms and the last one off the ship walked towards Fang, pulling off his helmet.

"Hey Fang, need a ride?" Rygdea asked smiling broadly at her.

"Don't get cute" she responded to him as she motioned for the others to follow her and get on board.

Hope had taken a minute to say goodbye to his dad, telling him he had to leave and couldn't stay there because he was a l'cie. "You're not leaving" his father said "you're making a choice. Don't let this focus drive you. You make your own choices, do what you feel is right." Hoped hugged his father and promised he'd be back when this was all over.

As they were all boarding the ship, Serah was at Snow's side giving him support as he had his arm wrapped around her and still coughing from the gas. "Snow," she said "that was the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do, but I nearly fainted from being so scared of losing you."

"Somebody has to start talking some sense into these people, but I'm sorry I scared you so much" he said as he reached down and kissed her on the head. "Besides, hero's never die, remember?" he remarked grinning at her. She grinned back at him as the two boarded the ship together.


	14. Chapter 14 - The Palamecia

_This chapter will start with Hope's dad, moving on to the warship they boarded at Hope's home. It will continue until they are about to meet the Primarch. - Thanks for reading and Reviews are always welcome._

* * *

Bartholomew Estheim watched from the broken windows of the house, as his son boarded the PSICOM ship and was out of sight. He had lost his beloved wife, and now, as he stood helpless and alone, was losing his beloved son.

His heart was heavy with grief, feeling a numbing sensation gradually overtaking his being. Nothing seemed important to him anymore, not his work, not his home, not even his own life. Nothing mattered to him except for the safe return of his son.

The remaining troops that did not board the ship came up to him, untied him, and told him he would be taken into the protective custody of the Calvary, for his own safety. They were hiding refugees that came from the Purge of Bodhum, and were rescuing as many of the detainees from Palumpolum as possible.

The soldier in charge told him "You can pack a few things if you want, but we have to move quickly before the real PSICOM troops show up." He was silent, staring aimlessly at the floor, when his eyes caught sight of a family photo lying amiss the broken glass.

Then it hit him, "You fool!" he thought to himself "You're a scientist for the Sanctum, you know more about them than anyone else."

"Yes, I do have things I need" he hurriedly said to the soldier, rushing to collect his computers and papers. He also picked up the picture that was lying on the floor, tucking it safely away in his shirt.

The soldiers took him to a small transport ship; he boarded and took a seat towards the back of the ship. "This has got to stop," he was thinking to himself, as he looked upon the frightened faces of people that were already there, "I have been as naïve as everyone else has been" shaking his head at himself "Pulled right into the Sanctums web of deceit."

The ship took off, heading for the secret destination the Calvary had established. Bartholomew's thoughts were rapidly running through his mind, "I'll work day and night." he thought "They spoke of bringing down the Sanctum, so that's probably what they will try to do." he reasoned, "I can assist them from this end and help mitigate the consequences of such a plan."

The Calvary soldiers took him to a small studio-type room that would be his home for a while. It had a bed and bath, a small kitchenette with a table and chair, and not much else. "This is perfect", he told the soldiers, "Thank you."

He immediately sat down at the table and started organizing his papers and outlining in his mind what he needed to do. "Nora gave her life to save you Hope," he said aloud to himself, "I will do no less, to bring you home safely, I promise you that."

_Boarding the Warship…._

Hope turned, looking at his father one last time, "Stay safe, Dad" he muttered softly to himself, then turned towards the warship and boarded, glancing down at the brand on his wrist. He wanted so much to stay with him, but knew that was impossible as long as he wore the brand of the fal'Cie. His eyes begin to water, as he walked slowly with his head held down.

"I never listened to him; I never gave him a chance" he thought as he slowly approached the others.

"We're taking your dad to a safe place, kid" Rygdea told Hope, as he put a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Thanks" Hope responded, forcing a smile to appear on his face. His emotions were torn, but resolved that he must now concentrate on their plight, so he could someday return to his dad.

A medic was examining Snow, scanning him for broken bones with a medical device, while Serah stood watching with her hands clasped nervously under her chin. The medic found several cracked ribs and a badly bruised hip bone, not to mention the effects of the gas that Snow inhaled, but nothing was broken.

When the medic left to return to his duties, Serah cast a cure spell on Snow and the blue healing magic engulfed him, slowly healing his injuries. Sighing a sound of relief, Serah gently hugged her hero, and said to him "I'm so glad you're alright, I was so worried."

Snow grinned, putting his arm around her "Hey, I'm fine, now." She smiled as the two turned and started walking to join the others.

"We're headed back to the Lindblum" Rygdea told them, "Raines is waiting for us there." as he headed off to tend to his duties, smiling at Fang as he left.

Lightning stood silently staring at Serah, with her arms folded in front of her, then asked "When did you learn to use daggers like that?"

Serah looked back at her sister, "Oh, oh, she's pissed." she thought "better answer like it's no big deal."

"A long time ago, Light." she tried to answer nonchalantly, "Remember the video game you got for me, the one about the princess of war? I just practiced her moves."

Lightning narrowed her eyes on Serah, and then asked "Is THAT why my punching bag started getting wrapped in duct tape?"

Snow started cracking up laughing, prompting Hope and Fang to join in.

"Sorry, Light" Serah apologized, "I shouldn't have done that, but it made the perfect target." she argued in her defense, sheepishly smiling at Lightning.

"Good grief!" Lightning muttered, as she put her hand to her face and started shaking her head in disbelief.

_Arriving at the Lindblum….._

Raines greeted the group as they boarded the Lindblum from the warship, introducing himself to Lightning and Hope. He then promptly told them that PSICOM had captured Vanille and Sazh in Nautilus. "They are being held on the Palamecia and plans are already underway for their public execution. The announcements are being broadcast as we speak" he said as he walked them over to the display units so they could watch and listen to the broadcasts.

"They're baiting us" Fang said pacing back and forth.

"Yeah, here's your friends, come and get them" Lightning responded, as she tried to think of a plan to rescue them without falling into a trap.

"Well, if they're daring us to mount a rescue, I'm all in." Snow said with a smirk, punching his hand into his fist.

"I'm in, we can do this!" Serah declared in a determined voice as she raised a clinched fist under her chin. She felt a new found confidence in herself and, as Snow put his arm around her and exclaimed "That's my girl!", she beamed that confidence across her face for everyone to see.

"OK," Rygdea told the group "I'll be ready when you are." turning to leave, "We're flying you in aboard a cargo ship."

Snow remarked "Oh, so now we're cargo?" with a smirk on his face. Raines had given them the Palamecia's design plans to familiarize themselves with the layout of the ship.

"They'll have Vanille and Sazh in lockdown," Lightning instructed, "we'll have to make our way to that area of the ship first" pointing to a location on the ships plans. Then, we'll go after the Primarch; he'll more than likely be in this area here" moving her hand across the plans and encircling an area with her finger.

"Let's get going, Vanille is in there and we are wasting time" Fang said, pacing and becoming impatient.

"I'm sure Vanille is fine" Hope stated, looking up at Fang, "she's tougher than I'll ever be."

"Hope, are you scared?" Lightning asked in a caring manner towards the boy.

"Yeah, I'm terrified, but I'll be OK. I have all of you and as long as we stick together, we can do this."

Lightning started walking in the direction where Rygdea was waiting for them, "Alright then, let's go" she said. They silently boarded the PSICOM cargo ship, and, with Rygdea at the helm, they took off headed for the Palamecia.

"What's the hold up?!" Rygdea shouted into the com-mike. "Stand by, verifying identification code" came back the answer from the Palamecia.

Two warships then appeared, scanning the cargo ship, as Rygdea shouted back into the com-mike "You let me land this bird or I'll crash her into your ass!"

The Palamecia flight controller quickly responded "Code verified, you're free to dock."

Rygdea responded back through the com-mike, "About damn time!", as he flew the ship towards the loading dock to land and deliver his 'cargo'.

The five l'cie silently snuck off the ship and waved to Rygdea, as he flew off to rendezvous with the Lindblum. They didn't get far, before a warning started flashing, announcing "Code red, this is not a drill, code red!"

PSICOM soldiers were approaching them quickly and Snow yelled "All right then, let's tear them up!" Lightning shouted "Remember, this is for Sazh and Vanille, stay focused!"

They fought off the first wave of soldiers, when they saw more heading their way. "Looks like they're ready to play" Fang precariously said.

"Yeah, No kidding," Snow answered, then asked "Where do we go from here?" Fang raised her hand and pointed "Up there" she said, pointing at a lift that would take them away from the soldiers.

Lightning took the lead and they ran for the lift, leaving the soldiers grasping for a solution to capture or kill them. The lift stopped at some platforms that exited to the outside of the ship and onto the wing flaps. Once there, they engaged soldiers with graviton packs and mechanical whirling robots, fighting their way towards an entry way that led back into the ship.

Once back on the ship, they continued on their objective, dodging and fighting PSICOM soldiers every step of the way. They came to the long corridor they needed to pass through to reach the area Vanille and Sazh were in, finding it guarded with more soldiers than they could fight at one time. To reduce the ranks of soldiers, they devised a plan to use Lightning as a decoy, drawing off some of soldiers to chase after her.

She was so fast on her feet; she had no problem staying ahead and running them in circles, losing them as quickly as possible to return to the corridor. Fang followed suit, drawing more soldiers away, and Snow, Hope and Serah started battling the remaining troops.

Lightning returned and joined into the fight and Fang arrived shortly thereafter, fighting their way to the end of the corridor and closer to Vanille and Sazh.

The color of the code alert changed to green, the sirens were echoing throughout the ship, as they continued their quest to rescue their friends.

_Sazh and Vanille….._

Vanille and Sazh were indeed in a lockdown cell and she finally revealed her story to Sazh.

"I'm pathetic" Sazh sighed as he walked over to a bench and sat down.

"That's my line" Vanille sadly mumbled, "I lied to everyone" and hung her head down, staring at her hands that she held in her lap.

"Now, now," Sazh starting to say in an upbeat tone, "You woke up from being a crystal, so maybe someday, Dajh will to." It gave Sazh comfort to know that Dajh would one day wake up from being a crystal, inspiring him to keep on fighting to survive, in hopes of seeing his son again someday.

The displays suddenly started flashing green and announcing a code green warning, when two guards and a Vespid Soldier entered their cell and told the two they were being moved. "On your feet, scum!" one yelled at Vanille, grabbing and pulling her to her feet. The other soldier approached Sazh and told him to stand up, but Sazh didn't move.

"Get him!" Sazh commanded, and the Chocobo chic flew out of his afro and hit the trooper hard in the head, surprising him and knocking him back a couple of steps. This gave Sazh the opportunity to overpower both guards, as Vanille picked up one of their guns, blasting the Vespid Soldier device to smithereens.

"All right, time to split." Sazh announced "Not run. There's a difference! "

"Gotcha" Vanille acknowledge, nodding her head and smiling.

Quickly, they escaped their holding cell and recovered their weapons, carefully watching for more soldiers.

Vanille lowered her head and asked Sazh, "Do I even deserve to escape?"

"You don't want to die, do you? That's gotta scare you, its scares me!" Sazh told her and it brought a small smile to Vanille's face.

"Stay positive, right? Sazh said to her as he started to leave. Vanille thought for a moment and then took off after Sazh to escape with him.

They had no idea where they going, just following the corridors looking for an opportunity to escape off the ship. They encountered all types Flans, mechanical PSICOM minions, and various beasts, dodging the slow moving armored lizards, since they were so hard to overcome.

Soon, they found themselves in the engine room, the main reactor had shut down and the ship was losing forward thrust.

"Power's down. What's going on?" Sazh remarked. Sazh came to a door that refused to open, pounding on it and yelling "Damn it!" Upon turning around, to find another exit, they found were trapped by monsters of all kinds closing in on them.

They had no choice but to stand and fight, trying to survive the onslaught coming towards them. Sazh had to call on his Eidolon, Brynhildr, for assistance. He threw the crystal in the air, and shot it with his pistol. A large glowing reddish-orange ball rose into the air and exploded into a shower of fire as Brynhildr appeared.

She transformed herself into a fiery sports car that Sazh jumped into and together they attacked their enemies with the magic of fire. When the enemies were defeated, the Eidolon transformed back to its enormous stature in a hell storm of fire, and, saluting to Sazh, disappeared.

_Meanwhile….._

At the end of the long corridor was a large circular room with walkways arranged in a maze, beasts of all kinds were positioned throughout the maze and all they could do was to fight their through them to reach the exit on the other side.

Upon reaching the exit, Fang precariously said "Well, wasn't that fun!" Lightning gave her a glancing look, "Nothing we couldn't handle" she responded, as she walked towards the exit.

The exit led them out onto the Weather Deck, and Hope commented "The wind is dying down."

"Yeah, and we are decelerating. Are they up to something?" Lightning said, folding her arms in front of her.

"I don't suppose it could be, I don't know, good luck?" Snow asked.

Panels started opening and mechanical PSICOM minions appeared all around them.

"That looks a lot more like bad luck." Fang said, responding to Snow questions. "You got a point" Snow said, punching his fists together.

Together, they fought their way down the Weather Deck, when the group was attacked by a Kalavinka Striker, a dragon like creature that was green in color and pulsated with energy in its wings and its long, stinger like tail. They fought it with magic and weapons alike when it finally staggered and, after a few more blows, fell dead on the deck then was swept away in the wind.

Everyone sighed a sound of relief, when another one swooped in, flying over their heads, but did not engage them. Fang yelled at it "Tease us will yah!" shaking her fist in the air at it.

"Come down here!" Snow yelled, challenging the beast.

An explosion from the wall startled the group, making them all jump as they looked towards the wall, and out of the smoke and the dust came Sazh and Vanille. Vanille, upon seeing Fang, yelled out her name and ran towards her to hug her.

Snow exclaimed "There you are!"

Sazh replied "Hey, did you miss me?"

"Not you," Snow yelled, "the monster!" as he pointed to the sky as the second Kalavinka Striker was returning to engage them.

This one was stronger and more deadly than the last one, flyng high into the sky and launching a swirling blast of blue energy that would devastate everything in its path. Sazh threw his protective magic on everyone while Fang was casting her sabotage magic on the beast.

Vanille and Hope were healing with curaga magic while Snow, Lightning and Serah were throwing offensive spells to strike it down. When it finally staggered, Fang and Lightning wielded their weapons and struck at the monster while the others continued to use their magic. At last, the beast fell to deck with a tremendous thud and slid off over the side as the last one had done.

Vanille and Fang ran towards each other calling out each other's name and hugged each other tightly as they were so happy to see each other after such a long time. Vanille immediately wanted to tell Fang the truth, but Fang put her off, telling her they'll have a long talk later.

Sazh asked "So, what's on the agenda?" as Snow immediately responded "We're taking down the Sanctum!"

"No really, what's next?" he asked again.

"Snow's right, we're taking down the Sanctum and the fal'Cie behind them, giving Cocoon back to the people" Lightning reiterating Snows answer.

A flock of the dragon like birds appeared above them, flying and diving closely towards them, alarming the group. These were different ones that looked more like flying lizards and were multicolored with red, green and blue. "Vanille" Fang yelled "Go fish!"

Vanille obeyed, pulling her odd looking binding rod that she used as a weapon, then cast it like a fly rod at one of bird-like creatures that had flown very close to them. Six long lines with hooks on the end flew out of the rod and ensnarled the creature as Fang jumped on its back and harmlessly pinned it to the deck.

"Come on" Fang yelled at the others, and Vanille motioned the others to follow her "We're going for a ride – Gran Pulse style!"

Serah and Snow didn't hesitate; they both saw this opportunity as a great adventure and they immediately grabbed each other's hand and ran for the creature.

Sazh and Hope were hesitant, but they had no other choice, other than to stay behind. No one noticed the silver owl-like bird that was watching them, as it took flight and headed for parts unknown.

As they all hopped on the creatures back, Fang unpinned it and off they went, soaring into the sky with the other dragon like creatures. It flew amazing fast, and Sazh lost his footing as his legs went dangling into the wind behind them. Snow punched his fists together and yelled, "It's time to purge a Primarch!"

Serah was hanging onto Lightning with Snow right behind her and she was smiling in absolute amazement. She never imagined she would be riding a flying beast like this without being scared out of her mind. "This is absolutely wonderful and amazing" she thought to herself as the wind rushed over her face and body "I could ride this beast forever."

Suddenly, warships appeared and started firing on them, scaring the bird, as it began flying erratically to avoid being hit. The bird dove closely to the Palamecia, causing the ship to become damaged from the fire of the warships. A large explosion opened up a hole on the top of Palamecia, and as the creature swooped back around, they jumped off its back and into the smoke billowing from the hole, coming to rest on a platform leading down to the Primarch.

"Dysley's though there" Lightning said as she pointed to two large doors at the bottom of six flights of stairs. Each flight had a platform with PSICOM soldiers and monsters guarding them. This wasn't going to be an easy fight to reach those doors.


	15. Chapter 15 - Onward to the Ark

_ Thanks for reading and, as always, reviews are always welcome. _

* * *

"Serah, do you think you can shoot that far?" Lightning asked as she pointed down to the next platform.

"We'll find out" Serah said, reaching for her bow. The platform below them was occupied with armored lizards and those nasty Vespid Soldier devices, which would entail a long and weary fight, if confronted.

Serah focused on her first target, drawing back the bow string and releasing the first armor-piercing arrow. As the arrow sped silently through the air at the first target, another arrow was already on its way to the second. "Focus on your target", watch how it moves, anticipate its next move" she ran the words over and over through her mind as she drew down on her targets as fast as she could.

The first shot had already found its destination with deadly accurately, as it struck the armored lizard monster and piercing its hard armor shell, embedding itself deeply into the monsters flesh. The giant lizard stumbled, falling dead and plunging over the platform into the darkness below. The second and third arrows also found their targets, with the same deadly consequences, killing the last of the lizards.

The Vespid Soldiers each exploded in a blaze of blue light, shooting shards of glowing, heated metal high into air, as the arrows destroyed their graviton units. The resounding blasts of the explosions echoed throughout the entrance, alerting the soldiers to the intruder's presence.

"Wow! Sazh exclaimed "That's some dam nice shooting girl!"

"Yeah, Serah," Vanille exclaimed, "That was really something!"

"Hey, that was way cool!" Snow shouted, raising his fist in the air.

"Good job, Serah" Lightning said, patting her on the back as she walked over to the console and extended the stairs to the platform below. "One down, five to go" Fang commented as she started down the stairs.

The exhilaration with the success of 'her mission' consumed her as she took Snow's hand and they trotted down the stairs together. She had fantasized for so many years about adventures like this, and now she found herself in one with such an ominous outcome, to become a Cie'th or a crystal. "There had to be something else, something long forgotten." she thought, "We just have to find it."

Lightning, with her vast experience as a soldier, started quickly giving orders. "The soldiers know we are here now and will be ready for us. Serah, focus on any soldiers with guns or grenade launchers and anything that flies, Sazh and I will back you up. Hope, we need you and Vanille to watch our backs, if any soldiers approach us from behind, Snow and Fang can take them down. Once we clear the next platform, be prepared to move quickly. Sazh, start casting your protection magic on everyone, they'll start shooting the minute they see us."

No one argued, and proceeded just as Lightning directed. She was right on the mark with her predictions of what was going to occur. The soldiers that were guarding other sections of the platforms were quickly making their way towards them to attack from behind.

Snow and Fang had little trouble fighting them off, while Serah, Lightning and Sazh took out the soldiers below them on the next platform. Hope and Vanille used their magic to protect, heal, and attack as necessary. The plan was flawless, as the group moved quickly from platform to platform, finally reaching the door leading to the Primarch.

"Everybody ready?" Lightning asked, as she looked around at them all.

"Let's do this!" Snow responded, punching his fists together in front of him, everyone nodded in agreement. Leading the way, Lightning ran towards the door, pushing it open, and running into a huge, circular control room.

In the middle of the room and perched high above the floor, Dysley was sitting on his throne with Nabaat standing obediently beside him. Upon seeing her, Sazh pointed his finger at her and shouted "Been looking for you Nabaat!"

They all spread out, taking an offensive stance and ready to do battle as Nabaat jumped down to the floor, pulling her baton, and calmly saying "Your eminence, please escape. I'll cover your retreat".

Sazh pulled his guns and aimed them directly at her, but before he could shoot, the Primarch simply responded to her "Why don't you leave, Jihl. Or rather, take your leave, humans have no business here."

"What? your Eminence" was all she was able to say before he struck her dead with a powerful blast of magic. They all gasped in surprise, as Sazh exclaimed "What? Magic?"

The Primarch began rising into the air as he wickedly laughed, amused at what he had just done. The staff he held starting transforming, displaying a glowing crystal at the top and six glowing crystals extending from the middle crystal.

He waved the staff at the command crew and, one by one, he killed them all with a shot of magic from the staff.

Snow was angered by what he was witnessing and yelled "Dysley! Monster! People are not yours to use!" Then he waved the staff at the ceiling causing it to disappear, exposing the room to the outside sky.

The Primarch floated down from the sky, evilly saying "What else does one do with tools?" as he landed on the floor. That remark made Snow's temper flare and he ran at Dysley to punch him, but Dysley protected himself with a shield that threw Snow backwards and onto the ground.

He continued his speech saying that Cocoon was a factory built by fal'Cie for mass production of human thralls. Snow interrupted him by shouting "Not anymore it's not!"

Dysley replied "What can mere men do? You saw the mindless mob drunk on the fear of few l'cie."

Lightning pulled her blade, pointing it towards Dysley and shouting "If they only knew a l'cie was the one filling their glasses!"

"L'Cie?" he started chuckling again in an evil and wicked tone "You mean me?" as he started floating towards the sky again, "Oh child, perish the thought, I am more than that, I am fal'Cie, my name is Barthandelus, Voice of the Sanctum and Lord-Sovereign of the Cocoon fal'Cie" transforming himself into his true form before their very eyes.

The figure before them was half the size of room, and was clad in silver and gold metal with huge claw-like feet, crouching like an animal ready to attack. The sacred writing of the fal'Cie could be seen on the shield that opened to reveal his face. His head was positioned close to floor and must have been fifteen feet high and eight feet wide. His face was flanked on both sides with two smaller, upside-down heads.

They all stood in shock at the sight they were witnessing, never suspecting that the Primarch and the fal'Cie were one of the same. Barthandelus taunted them with words to anger them and encouraging them to fight.

Serah reached for her bow and started shooting the upside-down heads on the left, while Snow, Lightning and Fang battled the ones on the right. Sazh started casting his protective magic and Hope and Vanille were casting offensive magic.

It took them two staggers to finally bring down Barthandelus, as he seemed to melt and dissipate into the air.

Snow remarked "The fal'Cie running the Sanctum".

Hope responded by saying "I guess it wasn't Eden running things after all."

They thought they had defeated him, but to their dismay, he reappeared as the Primarch again, telling them they did not fight to win.

"You all know the way to dispatch our kind" he said "Ragnarok."

"What's Ragnarok?" Fanged questioned and then grabbed her brand in searing pain.

"Pitiful l'cie, you've forgotten your focus. Ragnarok is the beast that one of you must become in order to lay waste to Cocoon. You have all had the dream. One among you will become that monstrosity, defeat Orphan, and destroy Cocoon."

"Orphan?" Lightning asked. "Orphan fuels Eden with strength and Eden in turns sustains you and the rest of our kind. Destroy Orphan, and you'll release a force as this world has never seen. Cocoon will be torn asunder" as he formed a fist and raised it front of him.

"So if I do that, destroy Orphan… Fang began to ask as Barthandelus answered "Your focus will be complete"

"So what, who says it has to be!" Lightning shouted as she swung her blade at him, but he simply disappeared to reappear a short distance away.

"If you will not face the truth then face the peril of your plight" Barthandelus shouted as a silver metal owl-like bird flew high in the sky, transforming into a warship and landing in front of them.

Serah gasped at seeing the bird, "that was Menrva," she thought, "but the books never said it belonged to anyone, none less a fal'Cie called Barthandelus." Barthandelus rose again off the floor and disappeared, his final words to them were "Run l'cie, see how stark reality is."

The Palamecia was shaking and starting to come apart, so Lightning yelled "Come on!" as she ran for ship. The others all ran behind her knowing it was their only way off the Palamecia before it crashed.

Sazh was behind the controls as the ship sped off into the air, then he shouted "This is bad! The yoke is jammed!"

"I KNEW it was a trap" Snow stated angrily.

Suddenly, another ship appeared and started firing upon them. It was Rosch in his private warship he called the Proudclad. Blasts were going off all around them, rocking their ship to and fro.

"Hang on!" Snow shouted at everyone.

To Sazhs amazement, their ship started returning fire on the Proudclad, prompting him to holler, "What the hell kind of ship is this? Fighting! On its own!"

Their ship encased itself in crystal for defense and out maneuvered the Proudclad, reaching the shield around Eden and sailing through with no problem. The Proudclad was stopped dead in its tracks when it hit the shield, bouncing the ship back into the sky and ending Rosch's pursuit.

Everyone was looking behind them to see if they had lost their pursuers when Vanille shouted as she turned her head forward, "Sazh! Look out!"

They all turned their heads and started screaming, as they were on a collision course with a large building with no way to divert the ship's direction. The ship, upon collision, was swallowed up by the building and disappeared from site as it landed inside a strange and foreboding place.

Vanille walked around, looking at everything and remarked "This looks like a piece of Pulse". The others started discussing the events that just happened and the things Dysley had said, trying to make sense of it all.

Serah stood in silence staring at the ground, then unbuckled her breastplate and bow and threw it to the ground. She turned from the group and started walking away, feeling an anger welling up in her like she had never felt before.

"Serah" Lightning called to her, "what's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" She responded, "Everything's wrong! Light, my favorite subjects in school were history and mythology. I excelled in them, remember?" Serah's brand started to glow an emerald green and the pain started shooting through her arm.

She grasp her arm as she continued to say "I was going to the University to be a history teacher so I could keep teaching the lies that Barthandelus wanted passed down to future generations." Her brand continued to cause more pain with every word, making her drop to her knees.

"Everything I've learned are lies with enough truth in it to make it believable" she shouted. The pain was unbearable making her cry out as she slumped to the floor, tightly gripping her arm. A wall of green arrows surrounded her, crisscrossing each other, and cutting her off from the rest of the group.

"Serah!" they shouted and came running to assist her, but wall kept them from reaching her.

The floor within the circle of arrows began to blaze in emerald green designs. Beams of brilliant green light shot from the floor then converged at a point near the ceiling, producing a large emerald colored sphere, gilded in gold writing, and growing in size as it floated down to the ground.

In a flash of brilliant green light, a large figure appeared from the sphere, clad in gold and green armor resembling that of an ancient hunter. He sported a bow on his back with a large sword in one hand and a gold shield in the other. His face was partially covered by a gold Roman-style helmet with green trim.

Vanille cried out "Ohhh, Nooo!" then covered her mouth with her hand.

Then Fang, shaking her head, said "This ain't good, nope, not good at all."

Lightning and Snow were beside themselves and Snow questioned the two loudly, "What is it!?"

Fang responded "That Eidolon is Orion, he's the toughest one of the bunch to please, and has never yielded to any l'cie that I know of, killing every one of them."

"Serah!" Snowed yelled, but she did not acknowledge him.

"She can't hear you through the barrier" Fang said to him, "Orion doesn't like outside help, she has to do it on her own."

They all circled the barrier, but there was no way to help her and she was without her bow.

Serah rose to her feet and recognized Orion immediately from his appearance. He was the greatest hunter and predator of all time, his image was cast in the night sky by the star constellation that bore his name. He was the most written about entities in mythology and represented to her what mythologies were all about, as she had read so much about him.

She crossed her hands in front of her pulled the only weapons she had, the daggers. She held the left one slightly above her shoulders and conjured up shell magic, letting the magic flow from her left hand into the dagger and created a shell enhanced with the AMP that the daggers both possessed. This created a moveable "shield" she could use to defend herself.

Orion lunged at her, bringing his blade around to strike her down as she positioned the shield to protect herself from the blow. Sparks flew as the blade struck the shield and he quickly repositioned himself for another attack. He wielded his sword to strike from the opposite direction as she moved her shield to take the force of the blow.

"Come on baby, you can do it!" Snow yelled, even though he knew she couldn't hear him.

She continued to move, trying to get Orion trapped up against the barrier he had created. The intimidating figure held the sword over his head and Serah dropped to one knee to reposition the shield over her head to deflect the attack.

He swung the sword down swiftly and shell still held, as she pushed the figure backwards by jumping to her feet and pushing with all of her might. The arm guards she wore to give her arms additional strength were working perfectly.

She then saw her opportunity to strike, conjuring Thundaga magic through her right arm and down through the dagger, aiming it directly at Orion. He shielded himself with his shield and the force of the strike threw him up against the barrier.

The battle continued, until Orion finally yielded to her. He rose in the air and transformed into a huge, helmeted falcon; clad in gold and green metal-like feathers, then dissipated into the air.

Serah had succeeded where all others had failed with her strategy. She fell to her knees, dropping her daggers, and grabbing her arm as the searing pain in her brand started to subside.

Snow was the first one to her and he picked her up by her waist and hugged her tightly as her feet dangled off the ground in his embrace.

"I thought I was going to lose you, no l'cie has ever beaten him, but you did it!" Snow told her, whispering in her ear. She embraced him back and passionately kissed him in front of everyone, including Lightning.

"Come on you two, save it for later" Fang rang in "We've got things to do".

Snow put her down and Serah ran over to hug Lightning. "Good job, I'm very proud of you" Lightning said, hugging her sister tightly.

Serah picked up her daggers and put them back in their sheath.

"What made you so angry? Lightning asked.

"I've known from the beginning that something was missing, something wasn't right with this. It wasn't until I saw Menrva, the bird that turned into the ship, that it dawned on me that history had been written to suit Barthandelus. We can't trust what we think we know, and we can't trust what he tells us." Serah explained to them all.

"You know, Vanille and I have kinda been branded twice" Serah reflected to the group, "I saw the same vision twice, but the first time I was branded, it was like I felt dizzy so I sat down and fell asleep. When I woke up, the brand was there.

But the second time, there were those bells tolling in the background. We were floating in darkness then the green tentacles holding us. That wasn't a dream – and we weren't in that vestige. That's why we survived, because we didn't fall, something placed us at the bottom of Lake Bresha after branding us."

"She's right", Vanille said, "I do remember being branded the first time back on Gran Pulse. It's more like a feeling of dizziness and going to sleep and waking up with a brand."

"Any idea's on who or what did this to us?" Sazh asked.

"No, not yet, but it had to be a Pulse fal'Cie or a deity, Barthandelus could only brand us as Sanctum l'cie" Serah responded back to him and added "I remember reading about a place, beyond the void, where the bells are said to toll like that for the dead, but who knows if that's true."

Snow walked up to Serah and put his arm around her and his brand started flickering blue again. Fang noticed it immediately and turned to Vanille and said "Have you ever seen a brand act crazy like that?" as she pointed to Snow's arm and everyone turned to look at it as Snow held it out.

Vanille started giggling and turned to Fang "You've forgotten the old legend, don't you remember?" Fang looked at her with a confused look as Vanille said "Serah, come here" still giggling. Serah walked over to Vanille and Snows brand went dark again.

"OK Snow, you walk towards Serah," Vanille instructed and Snow obeyed, walking towards Serah. "Now watch both of their brands" Vanille said, finding great pleasure in her demonstration and giggling throughout it all.

As Snow approached Serah and put his right arm on around her shoulder, Serah's brand flickered with an emerald green and Snow's flickered with a bright blue.

"Do you remember now?" Vanille asked Fang, smiling at her.

"Yep, always thought it was a just a story somebody made up" Fang said chuckling.

"Are you two going to let the rest of us in on this?" Lightning said sarcastically and getting irritated with them both.

"The legend says that the Eidolons know when l'cie are destined to be together and display it by their brands glowing when the two are close to one another. It's like finding your one true love that was meant to be. Now that both of them have their Eidolons, both of their brands will glow, instead of just Snows." Vanille explained to everyone and went on to say "I've never seen it before and I've never heard of it actually happening."

Lightning put her hand to her face and started shaking her head in disbelief, muttering to herself "Good Grief!"

Snow and Serah hugged each other tightly, Snow leaning down kissing her on top of her head and said with a smile on his face, "We didn't need Eidolons to tell us that, we've known it all along". Serah agreed with him by nodding her head and smiling.

Hope and Sazh just looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders.

Fang smiled and thought to herself, "Now this could make things interesting, couldn't it!"

Vanille clasped her hands under her chin and rocked her body to and fro thinking how romantic and sweet this was, especially that the legend was true.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Fifth Ark

_ Thanks for reading, and reviews and comments are always welcome. _

* * *

There was only one way to proceed, up a flight of stairs - so up they went, listening to Vanille sputter out incoherent things to herself. The stairs ended at a large room filled with large four-sided decorative vestiges that nearly reached the ceiling. As they walked onto the floor, gazing at the room, the vestiges beamed a red light onto the floor beneath their feet, it began to glow red in the design of the brand they all bore.

"What the hell….." Sazh started to yell, as their brands also began to glow red in response to glow on the floor. Each one grabbed or covered their brand and cried out in pain as the glow intensified. The vestiges round, blue lights flicked on and beams of light ran down the sides them, as if someone had turned on a switch.

When the pain and red glow disappeared, one of the vestiges emitted sounds of working hydraulics. Two sides of the one of the vestiges rose up, then outward, to release two Pulsework Knights that immediately started towards them to attack.

"Oh, great!" Hope shouted as he pulled out his boomerang "Here we go again."

Snow, Fang and Lightning lead the attack on these metal clad robots, while everyone one else used their magic.

"Take that! Vanille would yell at the bots as she hit them with her magic.

Lightning could be heard shouting "Get out of my way!" when she would run in for a blitz-strike with her blade. Soon, the robots were nothing but heaps of metal lying on the ground with sparks of short-circuited wiring flashing and snapping in the air.

"Let's get moving, before the rest of them start opening up" Fang urged. They came to more stairs which led them to a level that was vast in size, filled with vestiges setting on long, narrow pedestals and pipes of all sizes running along the high ceiling and walls. Vanille stared at the sight while turning in circle, and finally said "This has to be an Ark"

"An Ark?" Lightning questioned.

"Legend says the Pulse fal'Cie feared invasion from the outside and built Ark's of living weapons and hid them all over the world" Vanille said as she walked, still gazing at the area in front of them.

"Everyone on Gran Pulse knew of legend," Fang added "Most of us never believed in them, some people went looking for them but never found a thing."

"There's more" Vanille continued the story, "They say the Arks served a more practical purpose, to force l'cie to master their powers"

"Ok, I get it", Lightning said "Dysley wants to forge us into stronger weapons."

Hope interjected his thoughts saying "Let's think of it as training, for the fight ahead of us."

They all agreed, as another vestige opened and more Pulsework Knights came out to attack them. They decided not to engage them, running to another part of the vast Ark. It was a massive structure with stairs, passageways, and levels. Some of the rooms looked like arena's, round in shape and tunnel-like passageways connecting them all together.

They fought and dodged enemies at every step, it seemed endless. The enemies were strong and some were poisonous, the flan glowed an eerie color of green and smelled of strong sulfur, and the bird-like creatures were fast and vicious with their attacks. Hexagonal bombs bounced and bobbed at them in places and Behemoths roamed the passageways.

They all grew weary and were looking for a safe place to rest when Sazh remarked "You would think there would be some sort of barracks in here, even l'cie have to sleep and eat".

They cautiously proceeded on their journey through the Ark, when Hope tripped a door that opened to reveal what looked to be a small barracks type room.

Hope shouted at the others and they all went in to examine the room to see what it contained. There were only two rooms; one was a kitchen area and another larger room with a table and chairs. The kitchen had a sink with running water and, after Lightning tested it for purity; they all satisfied their thirst and refilled their water containers.

Serah started searching the air-lock metal cupboards for any type of food that may be preserved in them. As she opened each one, a whoosh of air could be heard filling the cabinet. All she found was flour, powdered milk, and powdered eggs, which all appeared to be edible.

"What do we have left for rations?" she asked the others. Everyone pulled out what they had and placed it on the rectangular table that was in the adjoining room. They had sugar, spice, salt, and pepper packets and little else was left.

Well, this is just dandy" Sazh said "We're trapped in this place with nothing to eat."

"Even the game in here isn't edible" Fang responded "except for the Behemoths."

Everyone groaned at that remark, when Serah said "I might have a solution, Snow will you help me?"

"Sure, just tell me what you need" he said with a smile.

She motioned for him to follow her as she grabbed a container she had found in the kitchen area.

"I saw something we can eat" she whispered to Snow, "but I don't want the others to know what it is yet" Snow got a worried look on his face and she giggled at him. "Don't worry, it's not bad, just a little, well, out-of-the-ordinary. Light's eaten this before; she just didn't know what it was."

"Ok, baby", he said, "I trust you."

"Come on, it's not far" she said and they started off to their destination. She led him to a hole in the floor she had noticed, in the hole were a batch of green-back snakes that were about 3" in diameter.

"These are a delicacy in the fancy restaurants back in Eden" she explained to Snow as he peered down at the snakes. "We need about of three or four of them to feed everyone" she said as she unsheathed one of her daggers.

"Here, give me the dagger" Snow said smiling at Serah "I'll take care of this, Gadot and I have eaten snake meat quite a few times in the past. I like really like it."

"Thanks, Snow. I'm going to walk down here and take a look at something" she told him as she pointed a few yards away.

A short time later, Snow approached her with four nicely dressed out snakes in the container and she complimented him on the good job he had done.

"Look what else I found", as she pointed to the nooks and crannies around the columns and wall.

"Spiders?" he asked, looking a little surprised.

"Yeah, these big black hairy ones are the only ones that are big enough to cook and eat, they're really good" Serah enthusiastically replied, "I found the recipe in an old cook book, I've made them for dinner for Light and me quite a few times – she just doesn't know it, same with the snakes."

Snow started laughing and put his arm around Serah.

"What?" she said, as she looked at him with a grin on her face.

"You fed Sis snakes and spiders and she doesn't know it. Now that's funny!" he said still laughing.

"Well, I was afraid she wouldn't eat them if she knew what it was, you know how stubborn she can be." Serah responded, still grinning at him.

"If we get into a fix for something to eat, there are plenty of these hairy things to feed us." she concluded.

Snow was still laughing at the visual he had in his head of Lightning, eating snakes and spiders and not knowing it, as they walked back to where the others were waiting.

"Ok, little one, just what did you find that's edible in this place?" Fang questioned, with a look of doubt on her face.

"Do you really want to know, or do you want to be surprised?" Serah asked as she looked at everyone. After a consensus, they all decided to eat first and find out what it was later.

The two found some aluminum foil and wrapped each snake tightly, cooking it long enough to separate the bone from the meat. Snow helped her with the process of separating the meat as she dipped the pieces of meat in the batter and returned it to the oven to finish cooking. The aroma of the food was enchanting, increasing the hunger they were all feeling.

They all sat down at the table and enjoyed the meal that Serah and Snow had prepared, commenting how good it was.

"I've had this before, Serah, what is it, exactly?" Lightning asked after finishing her meal.

"Yeah," Sazh asked "How did you find something this good in a place like this anyway?"

"I have to admit little one, this is dam good" Fang commented.

"There's always something to eat if you know what to look for" Serah started saying "It's actually a delicacy in the fancy restaurants in Eden" she paused, took a breath, and, glancing at Snow, announced "Its green-back snake meat."

"Snake meat, Huh? Well, I think I'll be eating more of this in the future!" Sazh declared, as he continued to eat, "I didn't know it was this good!"

"Snake?" Hope said, a little surprised and not sure if he should be disgusted or not, "I ate snake?" pausing again at the thought, then placing his hand on his stomach.

"Actually, that's kinda cool, isn't it!" Vanille giggled at him and energetically responded "Yep!" in her high pitched voice.

"This is the best snake meat I've ever eaten, baby!" Snow told her, as he looked over at Sazh, continuing to say "Didn't I tell you she's the best cook ever!"

"Yep, I'll concede to that." Sazh said smiling, while he finished his meal.

Lightning sat quietly, realizing she had eaten snake for several years and never knew it, Serah had never told her, but she had never asked about it either. That guilty feeling of not really being there for Serah started gnawing at her again.

"If Serah would have told me what it was, would I have eaten the snake meat back then?" she thought, "No – I would have scolded her and thrown it out, instead of trying it."

Shaking her head at herself, she got up and walked over to Serah and hugged her while saying "That was a great meal; I'm happy to know what I've been eating all these years."

Serah hugged her back and whispered to her "I'm so happy you're not angry with me, Light."

Hope was already curled up in a corner on floor with his sleeping bag, drifting off to sleep.

"The kid's all in," Snow stated as the others looked over at Hope.

"Yeah, Vanille looks done in herself." Fang said, looking over at Vanille, who was half asleep, still sitting in her chair.

"Might not be a bad idea if the rest of us caught some shut-eye." Snow suggested, yawning and stretching his arms above his head.

A few hours of sleep certainly couldn't hurt as they all got out their sleeping gear and picked out a spot on floor to lie down on. It would be hard to tell when the next opportunity may present itself to rest and the rooms seemed relatively safe from invaders.

Serah woke up with a jolt, sitting straight up with perspiration running down her face and was shaking all over. She had awakened Snow with her sudden movements and he was trying to calm her down, "You had a bad dream, Serah, it'll be Ok." he softly said, holding her close to him.

"Snow, I know who branded us, it was Pulse" her trembling voice told him. "The bells we heard, they were attached to him, I remember now, and when the flash of light came up from below and struck the crystal, I could see we were floating in a tunnel. I saw his face, his hands - with claws on them."

The memories made her shudder, but Snow's embrace and comforting words soon alleviated her fear, as she fell back to sleep in his arms. He laid her back down in her sleeping bag and pulled her close to him with his arm. Soon, he felt her arm resting atop his, as he watched the flickering glow both of their brands were emitting. Smiling at the sight, he drifted back into sleep.

They didn't know how long they'd slept, but they all certainly felt better and ready to continue their journey, hoping to find a way out of this prison. The last bit of meat was shared between them and they started off with Lightning leading the way.

"So you're saying it was Pulse that branded us?" Sazh questioned Serah as they walked along. "I get Pulse fal'Cie wanting to destroy Cocoon, but Cocoon fal'Cie wanting the same thing, I just don't get that part" Sazh said shaking his head.

"Well, to make this more confusing" Serah interjected "What do you think happens to Pulse if Cocoon falls into it? No more Pulse, either. Both would be destroyed by the collision of the two."

"Maybe that's what they want" Hope theorized "Wipe out everything and everybody and start over."

"But doesn't that mean the destruction of the fal'Cie, also?" Snow asked, remembering Barthandelus's words.

"It sure sounded that way to me" Fang added.

It wasn't long before they came across a new looking monstrosity they would have to fight off. It glowed a devilish color of red on top, turning purple on the body and walked like an animal. Where its head should have been was a curved shaped device that would switch from side to side, releasing fire onto its opponents. It released a large blunt-ended sword that would strike with swift and devastating blows to anything standing in its path.

"We can't seem to catch a break, can we?" Snow shouted as he stood in his fighting position, ready to engage in the fight. They fought from every direction, surrounding it and making the mechanical beast continually turn to strike its next victim.

Fang threw imperil magic at it, which made the thing confused and unable to strike. Lightning was able to launch it into the air where they could do the most damage on it. They managed to staggered the thing and kill it, all breathing a sigh of relief.

Onward they went, still pondering the confusing focus, until a passageway led to a large open room and a figure was walking towards them.

"Raines?" Snow called out at the figure.

"What are you doing here?" Fang shouted at him, as he approached.

"Raines, you traitor!" Lightning shouted as she unsheathed her blade and ran towards him, with fury in her heart.

She swung her blade at him, but he blocked her with ease, as she swung at him again and again. This time he grabbed her wrist and disarmed her, flipping her to one side and her blade flying straight in the air. He caught the blade by its grip as it came down and pointed it directly at them.

"I put you on the path. That was my focus" he said to them.

"You're a l'cie?" Fang asked in disbelief.

"Since long before we met" was his response, as he displayed the glowing brand of a Sanctum l'cie on his right hand.

Raines told the group of the fal'Cie's plan to use them to destroy Cocoon, killing everyone on it as a tribute to bring back the Maker. He went on to tell them that he was there of his own accord to challenge his fate as a l'cie and to defeat them so the fal'Cie's plan would fail.

"I will use all of my remaining power, I will set you free!" he shouted as he raised his arm into the air and snapped his fingers. A wall went up around them with the symbol of the Cocoon brand, trapping them inside of it with Raines.

He then transformed himself into a half-beast looking entity, his right arm looked like one of a Cie'th and parts his skin and hair turned to a translucent bluish-white color. His left arm was the only part left on him that still looked human.

The fight was on and Raines proved to be a difficult opponent, to say the least. His attacks were swift and relentless.

"The fal'Cie has no hold over me!" Raines would shout, as he would run in to attack. Then he shouted "My will is my own!" as he bent down and four pair of white colored wings sprouted from his back.

The blinding light of magic flashed, as it struck its targeted victims on both sides.

"No dirt naps today!" Snow would shout as he ran in, hitting Raines hard, and as many times as possible.

"It's all in the wrist" Fang shouted as she threw her saboteur magic on Raines.

The crackling sound of thunder echoed throughout the Ark, and the smell of smoke filled the air, as Hope cast his Thundaga and fire magic. Raines wrapped the wings around himself, as a shield against the attacks, and then used them to attack his opponents.

At last, they had staggered Raines and Lightning launched him into the air where they could do their worst damage. They hit him with everything they had and finally defeated him in what seemed like a battle that would never end.

Raines, on his hands and knees and gasping for air, sputtered out "Ironic isn't it. The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it ends isn't important. Just do what you know is right. Trust yourselves."

At that moment, a blinding light emitted from him and he turned to crystal before their eyes.

"What, did he complete his focus?" Sazh asked confused by what he just witnessed.

"I don't think so, all Raines did was try to save Cocoon in his own way." Snow replied to Sazh. "In his own way" Snow repeated to himself.

Within minutes, Raines's crystalized form dissipated into a beam of sparkling light that rose to ceiling and disappeared from sight.

"Raines" Lightning said, shaking her head.

"He looked like he was more fal'Cie than l'cie." Vanille commented.

"Yeah, like he was gradually turning into something else the more powerful he got" Hope shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, at least we know a little more of what's behind all this" Serah began saying as they all followed Light.

"The mythology I read from some very old books said the maker created Pulse, Lindzei and Etro then departed the world in search of the door to the Invisible World. Pulse and Lindzei created more fal'Cie and they departed also in search of the door, leaving behind the fal'Cie they had created."

Sarah continued as the others listened, "I think what they are trying to do is to open the door wide enough so they can find it and the makers of the fal'Cie would return to them."

"How does this help us, Serah?" Lightning asked.

"If I'm right, in order to open the door wide enough to be found, a massive amount of deaths would have to occur at the same time, or closely together. The destruction of Cocoon is a perfect scenario for that to happen." Serah reasoned to them. "It also explains why Pulse and Cocoon fal'Cie are in on this together."

"Do you know why they are looking for the door?" Hope asked Serah.

"Well," Serah started to explain, "There are several stories, and no one is quite sure why they are seeking the door to the Unseen World. Etro is there, and is said to have created humans from her own flesh.

Mwynn is also supposed to be there, being killed by her own son, Bhunivelze, so he could take control of seen world. Raines said that humans and fal'Cie were made by the same maker, which is the first time I've heard that story."

Lightning had found a way out by opening a large round door that rolled opened and led to an outside platform. They all ran through the door, only to find themselves overlooking what seemed to be a city in ruins with no visible way down off the platform.

"Great, a dead end!" Hope disappointedly said, as he looked over the sides of the platform for a way down.

"If the legend is right, it's a maze down there" Vanille said sadly.

"Yeah, with all kinds of challenges waiting for the l'cie" Fang remarked.

"Dammit!" Sazh shouted "I've had enough of this! Where's the way out of here!" raising his fists up above his head in frustration.

Snow walked up to the railing looking out over the ruins, Serah came over and stood beside him and slid her arm around his waist and leaned against his side.

"I've made up my mind", he announced to the others, as he still gazed out over the ruins.

He then turned towards them, and put his arm around Serah when she turned, "I may turn to Cie'th, I don't know, but until that happens I'm going to do everything I can to protect Cocoon and the people on it". It's not the fal'Cie we should be listening to, it's Raines, and to ourselves. We need to do what we know is right, we need to trust in ourselves."

"Yep, I'll help you do it." Vanille responded in her positive little voice. Snow extended his hand, clinched into a fist, and she placed her hand on top of his. Serah put her hand on top of Vanille's, "I'm in" she said smiling. Hope walked up and put his hand on top of Serah's and said "You can count me in, too."

Sazhs Chocobo chick jumped on top of Hopes hand and enthusiastically hopped up and down, chirping away. Everyone laughed, "Hey, you know you gotta be right if the Chocobo agrees! Right!" Snow said to Sazh.

"Yep, the bird always knows! I'm in!" Sazh said chuckling at the bird.

"Well, you can count me out!" Fang retorted back the group. "I'll go it alone and I'll tear Cocoon out of the sky, if I have to." Fang positioned her weapon in front of her, threatening the others with it. Her brand started to glow as she grabbed her arm in pain and continued to speak.

"What do I care, they all hate us for being l'cie, better that than seeing a good friend go Cie'th!" Her brand was glowing a brilliant white and the floor glowed with purple designs, the pain in her arm intensified, causing her to groan.

Vanille shouted at her, "Fang!"

"You go Cie'th and there's no coming back from that, I'll not have it end that way!" Fang shouted back at Vanille.

A beam of light shot from the floor into the sky and turned into purple, swirling circles above her. Fang cried out in agony at the pain and she dropped to her knees, grasping her arm.

From the center of the swirling circles, a huge flying beast shot out and flew over their heads with uncanny speed, then turned and flew back to Fang and hovered above her, as she shouted to it "What is he doing here? Come to take pity on the broken l'cie?"

Everyone ran to Fang to protect her and Vanille put her arms around Fangs shoulders to aid her.

The flying beast was fearsome to look at, it had dragon like wings that were black in color, and at the ends of its hands were huge red colored claws that were five inches long. Its body was shaped like a huge man in purple and silver trimmed armor with a helmet of silver. Its large wings became small and flapped above its shoulders, as he prepared for the battle with Fang.

"That thing's here to help us? Snow questioned, as he stared up at the frightful beast in front of them.

"Yeah, help. If we can't decide what to do next, they come put us out of our misery." she sarcastically replied.

"Wait, so you haven't made up your mind yet?" Snow questionably stated back to her.

The Eidolon started forming a huge fiery-blue ball of energy in its claws, Lightning jumped in front of Fang with her blade ready, while Snow positioned himself in front of Lighting to deflect the ball away from them all with his protective magic, as Bahamut hurled it towards Fang.

"Why are you protecting me?" Fang shouted.

Lightning asserted, "We're protecting one of our own. I'm fighting this focus to end, we all are."

Lightning turned to Fang and offered her hand to help her up, as she said "So please, fight with us". Fang took Lightning's hand and rose to her feet and shouted "Ready when you are!"

Bahamut was a strong and dangerous opponent, but the team fought hard for Fang and soon he yielded, transforming his man-like body into a dragon shaped beast, then disappeared into the air.

Vanille shouted to everyone "Look! A new path! Maybe that thing did help us!" as she pointed to a crystal pathway leading from the platform down to the ruins. Hope and Vanille ran ahead and down the pathway, followed by Fang.

"You go ahead" Serah whispered to Snow, "I'll walk down with Light".

He gave her a wink, and started walking down with Sazh, the two laughing and talking as they went.

"You know, this is really the first time I've ever seen you in battle" Serah started speaking. "I used to daydream of you and me, side by side, fighting monsters together. Now, here we are, fighting fal'Cie instead" as she turned her head and smiled at her sister.

Lightning put her arm around Serah, "I never realized how tough my little sister could be." as she smiled back, making Serah laugh.

"You really do love him, don't you?" Lightning asked, as she looked ahead of them, at Snow.

"Yes, Light, I do, I've known it from the day I met him. I know that sounds crazy, but I just knew" Serah told her in a whimsical voice.

"Light, do you have anyone special that you think about? You've never talked to me about things like that. You know, things sisters usually talk about" Serah asked her.

Lightning paused, and then answered her "I do have someone I think about, I'm just hoping he survived the Purge. I'll tell you all about it, after this is all over, alright?"

"I'm holding you to that, Light" Serah grinned, as they started approaching the others at the bottom of their crystal pathway, when they heard Vanille squeal "Look what I found!"

"An airship?" Sazh said in amazement. "Yeah, and it's a Gran Pulse airship" Vanille gleefully announced.

"And there's a portal to Gran Pulse" Fang said, pointing into the sky.

"Could be another trap" Lightning said cautiously.

"Either way, we're on borrowed time, we may as well go. Maybe we can find a way to get rid of these goofy tattoos." Snow said as he held up his branded arm.

"Or at least, how we can scorch them, like Fangs" Serah added, as she looked towards Fangs brand. Fang's brand wasn't progressing like the rest and Serah desperately wanted to find out why.

"It's hell, you know" Hope said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Oh ya, well how many times have you been there? Huh?" Fang bent down and got in Hopes face.

"Well, none, but I want to go and see for myself" he responded, backing up from Fang as he always felt intimidated by her.

"Everybody agreed?" Sazh asked, as everyone nodded in agreement.

"OK then, it's off to hell we go!" Lightning said, looking back at Fang, just to piss her off.


	17. Chapter 17 - Gran Pulse

_ Thank you in advance for reading. As always, reviews and comments are welcome!_

* * *

Sazh was at the controls, determined not to let this airship take them anywhere except where he flew it. They entered the portal and, in a matter of minutes, shot out of the other side to reveal the air space of Gran Pulse.

Fang and Vanille both felt that wonderful feeling of being home, while everyone else was in awe of the beautiful landscape that lay beneath them.

"You did it!" Vanille shouted and shook Sazhs shoulders.

"Hey, I told you, didn't I?" Sazh said confidently, but there was some doubt in his mind about navigating a 500 year old ship from Pulse. The airship sped through the sky, Sazh carefully guiding the old ship, as it caught the attention of a very hungry flying beast.

The flying creature looked like a huge centipede with long tentacles instead of legs, bumping the airship as it flew by them, making everyone gasp.

"Playful little critter, isn't he?" Fang teased the others.

"Well, let him play with somebody else!" Lightning retorted, with an irritated tone.

"He thinks we're lunch" Fang teased again, just as the beast returned and made another dive at the ship.

This time, the monster broke open one side of the ship, ejecting Hope and Vanille, sending them plunging towards the ground below. Snow and Serah had also been pulled out, but had grabbed onto a metal railing on the outside of the ship.

"Fang, get them!" Snow shouted, holding onto Serah with one arm.

"I'm on it" Fang shouted back, jumping out of the ship after the two, with Lightning jumping immediately after her to assist.

Fang threw the purple crystal into the air and Lightning shot it with her gunblade to summon Bahamut. The Eidolon appeared in a flash of purple light, flying quickly to retrieve Fang from the sky. Fang then grabbed Lightning as they flew by her, swinging Lightning around to rest on Bahamut's back behind Fang.

Vanille had grabbed Hope's hand during their descent; she then yelled, "Are you OK?"

Hope yelled back in a facetious manner, "OH YEAH, I'm great!"

Bahamut raced to the falling pair, while Fang and Lightning grabbed the two from the sky before they got any closer to meeting Gran Pulse in a most unpleasant fashion.

Fang pointed Bahamut to the ship and, with his massive wings and incredible speed; they rescued the three remaining members from the ship before it went into a nose dive, spiraling out of control.

"Is everybody OK?" Snow asked and everyone responded with a 'yes', as they watched the ship go down. They then turned their attention back to the splendor of Gran Pulse that lay beneath them, riding on the back of Fangs Eidolon.

"How cool is this!?" Serah thought to herself "I'm riding on the back of Bahamut and seeing Pulse spread out below me. Wow!" She glanced back at Snow and could see in his face, he was thinking the same thing.

"Welcome to Gran Pulse!" Fang loudly shouted to the others; as Bahamut flew them safely back to the crash site of the ship. They all slid off Bahamut, Fang waved at him saying "Isn't he a sweetheart?" as he disappeared until the next time she would call on him.

The plane was totally destroyed; they had no way to return to Cocoon at the moment, deciding to make base camp where they were at, for the time being. Not wasting any time, they started looking for anything that might help them in their quest to save Cocoon and rid themselves of their brands.

Fang, Vanille and Hope were tasked with finding the food and supplies they needed for the camp. The others headed off to see if they could find anything that would help them in their quest.

Serah's thoughts were racing "What an adventure this has been, and what lies ahead of us now?" she was thinking, as she walked with the others, "Perhaps we'll find the answers we need here, if we don't, then what?"

"What's that smell?" Snow asked, covering his nose and mouth with his hand.

"I don't know, but it's really bad" Sazh said, also covering his nose.

"Ewww" both Lightning and Serah exclaimed at the same time.

They kept walking and the horrible smell intensified, and, as they turned a corner in the pathway, they came across the source of the smell. Three orange-colored flan were blocking their forward progress.

"These things smell worse than the ones in the Ark" Serah pronounced.

"No kidding" Snow replied, feeling like he wanted to gag.

"Let's just get this over with" Lightning said as she pulled her blade for battle.

They all started throwing fire and thunder magic onto the flan, which always seemed to work the best on these nasty things. Soon, all three flan had been fried to ashes on the ground and they rushed forward to get away from the smell.

"Dam! I hope we don't run into too many of those things" Sazh stated.

"Yeah, that was horrible" Serah replied, agreeing with Sazh.

They ran into all kinds of wildlife and monsters that were fierce and unyielding, every village and town they came upon was in a state of ruins, not a trace of single living person was evident.

Beautiful pink flowers lined one pathway they were on, their blossoms were three feet wide and the aroma from them was enchanting, filling the air around them.

"They're gorgeous!" Serah gasped, clasping her hands under her chin.

"Well," Sazh said "at least they smell a lot better!"

Snow replied "You got that right!"

Serah ran up to the beautiful display of flowers, as Lightning shouted "Serah! No, be careful!"

Lightning had no more spoken the words, when two of the flowers popped up, whirling around in the air with large stingers dangling from their bodies.

"Serah!" Snow yelled as he ran up and smacked one as hard as he could, before it could strike her.

"How'd you like that!" he shouted at the monster as he hit it again.

Lightning pulled her blade and ran in for a blitz move, while Sazh started casting his protection magic on everyone. Snow was hitting and punching them hard, as he took one down. Serah was casting Esuna magic to eliminate the poison the monsters were delivering with their poisonous stingers.

They defeated the deadly creatures and Serah apologized for being so foolish.

"I'm so sorry, it never occurred to me something so beautiful could be so dangerous" she said, holding her head down.

"Hey, no problem" Snow said to her "None of us knew either. We just have to be careful."

"Yeah," Lightning said "We're in a strange place and we can't trust anything right now."

"Like I said," Sazh added "at least these things smelled a lot better." They all laughed at the remark, even Serah.

There was a small creek that ran close to the trail, and, since they were almost out of water, they decided to take a side detour for a rest and fill up their water bottles. Snow had found a place to sit on the ground with his back up against a rock and Serah was in his lap, as the two touched each other's faces, whispering and laughing.

Lightning was at the water's edge with her arms folded in front of her, looking at the scenery, when Sazh walked up from behind and started talking to her.

"I have to say," he started saying "those two are sure into each other. Maybe the legend Vanille told us is true."

"Humph, maybe" Lightning responded, as she glanced over her shoulder at them.

"So soldier girl, you have somebody waiting for you back home?" Sazh asked, hoping he wasn't going to get hit.

Lightning was silent, still gazing into the distance, then responded "I don't know. He was fighting with the resistance group at The Hanging Edge."

"Hey girl," Sazh apologized, "I shouldn't have pried, I'm sure he made it."

"How about you?" she asked, still staring off in the distance.

"Me? Nah, taking care of Dajh has been a full time job, no time for that sort of thing".

"We better get going" Lightning said to Sazh, he agreed as they walked over to Snow and Serah.

"Come on you two" Sazh said as he motioned with his hand, "Time to head out."

"We're right behind yah" Snow replied, as they got up to start walking back to the main trail behind Sazh and Lightning.

They found nothing but beautiful scenery, ferocious beasts, and deserted villages left in ruins.

"We better start heading back to camp before it gets dark" Lightning suggested "We can try a different direction tomorrow."

"Yeah, good idea." Sazh agreed "I don't want get stuck out here in dark. Besides I'm hungry. Let's hope Fang and Vanille were able to find something for dinner,"

"I'm sure they'll have something ready when we get there" Snow replied, as he slapped Sazh on the back.

They strolled into base camp and found Fang and Vanille sitting on some old equipment.

"Find anything?" Fang asked.

"No" Lightning answered "Just a lot of vicious wildlife and ruins"

"Where's Hope?" Snow asked.

"Him and bird are off collecting supplies" Fang responded nonchalantly.

"So what's for dinner?" Sazh asked.

"We made Pulsian Stew" Vanille replied "You'll like it, Pops!"

"Hey, I'm sure I will" he responded, smiling at Vanille. The Chocobo chick showed up by itself and the group became concerned by its unusual behavior.

It was obvious the chick wanted them to follow, so they ran after the chick as it flew to where Hope was. They found Hope unconscious, lying on the ground next to the creek. Snow gently picked him up and carried him back to base camp, where they could care for him properly.

Hopes brand had progressed and, with the additional stress of going through puberty, Hope had passed out cold. He needed to rest to recover and would be fine, as the others kept a watchful vigil on him. Vanille sat with him and kept checking his temperature with the back of her hand, and holding his hand with the other.

"Hey, Sazh" Serah started asking, as she was helping Fang with dinner, "Didn't you say that Nabaat said Dajh turned to crystal because his focus was apparently to find Pulse l'cie?"

"Yeah, something like that, why?"

"She lied" Serah told them, handing Lightning a plate of stew, "You said you and Vanille saw us escape on the video display, so Dajh would have had to find us to complete his focus, if that was what it was."

"She's right Sazh" Vanille realized "We did see them escape before Nabaat captured us."

"She was probably as surprised as you were that Dajh turned to crystal." Serah replied, bringing a plate to Sazh. "What did Dajh say, right before turning to crystal?" Serah asked him.

Sazh sat quietly for moment, trying to remember exactly what had happened, then responded "I asked Dajh how he got there and why he was there. He told me – because you promised – then he turned to crystal."

"What did you promise him?" Serah asked, as she handed Snow some dinner and sat down beside him with her own plate.

"I'm not sure" Sazh replied, scratching his neck and trying to remember what promises he had made to his son.

"Sazh, you told me you had promised Dajh that you would take him to Nautilus to see the Chocobos, remember" Vanille recalled to him.

"Yeah, you're right!" Sazh replied.

"Dajh changed his focus – whatever it was to start with, he changed it, his dad was in Nautilus with the Chocobos, and when he was in Nautilus with Sazh and the Chocobos, he completed his focus – the promise was complete" Serah reasoned to the others. "That's one of the missing pieces to this mess, it's not the dream the fal'Cie gave us, it's about what is inside of us, and fulfilling promises we make to each other."

"So you're saying we really can change our focus?" Sazh asked Serah.

"Yes, it explains why Raines turned to crystal, also; his strongest desire – his promise to himself, if you will - was to challenge his focus, which he did. He didn't have to defeat us; he would have turned to crystal either way." Serah went on to say "Snow's been right all along, we can change our focus, the dream means nothing unless we make it our priority."

"Makes sense, fact is, that makes a lot of sense" Sazh said, thinking over what Serah had just told them. He then turned to Snow and said "So you really did have it right all along."

"It's that stubborn streak in him" Lightning retorted.

"Hey, come on Sis, give me a break, admit I was right for a change" Snow snapped back, grinning at her.

"I'm not your sister!" Lightning replied sharply, "but, I'll admit, you were right."

"So we have to be careful what we desire the most" Fang said slowly, thinking of Raines, and then thinking of her desire to save Vanille. "Saving Cocoon has to be our only focus – our promise, or we could turn to crystal without getting the job done."

"I still can't figure out why your brand is scorched and Vanille's is not" Serah said to Fang "It doesn't make any sense."

"Wish I could tell you that myself, I just don't remember a thing" Fang said, shaking her head.

"What direction should we take tomorrow? Lightning asked, looking at Fang and Vanille.

"There is one place we could go" Vanille started to say when Fang interrupted her.

"Vanille, are you sure?" "Yep" Vanille reassured her.

"Oerba, the place where it all began" Hope said, as he had regained consciousness and heard the conversation, "Vanille and Fangs home, where the fal-Cie lie sleeping."

"Hope!" Vanille shouted. She had been so worried over her little friend, but that's the way Vanille was, she worried over everyone's safety and well-being.

"Just maybe, it will be the place where we find the answers we are looking for" Hope said, as he looked at his brand that was partially hidden by his handkerchief.

"Yah right, if we can get there." Fang said, looking to her side and down at the ground.

"Go ahead without me." Hope said, as he rose to a sitting position with the assistance of Vanille.

"We can't just leave you!" Vanille protested to him.

"I'll be fine" Hope reassured her. "You have all taught me so much, you taught me how to fight" Hope continued as he got to his feet.

He attempted a few steps, but was still weak from his ordeal; Snow reached out and grabbed him before he fell.

"What did I tell you? Leave the fighting to me." Snow said, as he tried to comfort the frightened child.

"I'm scared" Hope said as he shut his eyes and lowered his head.

"We understand." Lightning said, placing her hand on his shoulder, "You're not going to go through this ordeal alone, you know."

"But that's what scares me!" Hopes said as his voice started trembling, "I don't want to see you get hurt because of me." He put his hand to his face and started to cry and continued to say "It would be better for everyone if I just stayed behind."

Suddenly, his brand blazed a brilliant yellow, startling everyone around him as it exploded into a large blaze of blinding light. Everyone shielded their eyes, shrieking as they jumped back away from it.

The bright light transformed itself into circle beneath Hope's feet, then a perfect square on top of the circle. The explosion caused by the appearance of the light, had thrown everyone but Hope off their feet, hurling them several yards through the air before they came to rest on the ground.

Hope started screaming in pain and holding his brand, as the brilliant light shot towards the night sky from the four corners of the square. The four points of light met high in the sky and exploded into another burst of brilliant yellow light.

A figure descended from the blaze above and came to rest on the ground in front of Hope. Its stature was huge, maybe five stories high and looked like a titan clad in gold armor from head to foot.

"Mention an ordeal and look what comes along!" Fang shouted, as she and Lightning raced up to defend Hope.

"This is not an ordeal" Lightning claimed "this is a gift. Hope, this is the kind of power you have inside and its telling you not to give up. Trust me."

"Oh, I get it" Fang responded, "It's here to show you the way. To show you got what it takes to get back on your feet and do this thing"

"You mean, that came from me?" Hope said, as he looked at his glowing brand on his wrist. Now determined to go on, Hope pulled out his boomerang and took his position beside Lightning and Fang. The others rushed over and the battle began against the mighty titan that was standing before them.

The Eidolon wielded a deadly blast of energy, which he shot at the group from his gigantic hands. Sazh began casting his protection magic on everyone and Vanille used her healing magic. Lightning and Fang wielded their weapons against it, striking blow after blow. Snow struck it with multiple punches, while Serah and Hope threw as much offensive magic as they could.

Alexander would raise his huge arm, bringing down a fist to strike them; shaking the ground beneath their feet, as they jumped to elude the blow. The Eidolon finally yielded to Hope, then transformed into a fortress of medieval times with six round ramparts, spewing smoke into the night air. Alexander then dissipated, leaving Hope staring at the brand on his wrist in wonderment.

"That's some beast you tamed, I'll tell you that" Sazh commented to Hope.

"I thought the Eidolons were here to set us free through death, now I think they're here to snap us out of our slumps" Hope said to the others.

"Oh. Like the one you we just in?" Snow said as he walked up to Hope and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So, were all decided then? Lightning asked. Everyone agreed – they were going to head for Oerba in the morning.

"Let's get you something to eat" Serah said to Hope, as she pulled him over to fire and dished him up a plate of stew. They all started to prepare for the night as they selected places next to the fire to sleep and get a fresh start on their quest in the morning.

Snow sat alone on a piece of long abandoned Pulsian equipment, with his arms clasped behind his head, watching Serah and Lightning as they talked. "My future wife and sister" he thought, and a smile came to his face "My future family." How odd and amazing that felt to him to call someone his family after all this time.

Gadot and Lebreau were as close to family as he had ever known. The memories of the Sanctum orphanage flashed in his mind, as he positioned his forearms to rest on his legs, lowering his head to stare at the ground, as the memories flooded back.

Snow and Gadot were bigger than the other kids, and they always protected the smaller ones from the bullies and the Sanctum Overseers that operated the place. He learned to fight at an early age and defiance to the Overseers seemed to come easily to him, since their punishments seemed so unjustified and cruel.

When they turned fifteen, most of the kids were recruited into PSICOM service, others, like Snow and Gadot who refused to join, were allowed to leave to fend for themselves. He shook his head to dispel the memories of the place from his mind as he had better things to think about now – his future family, his friends, and how they were going to rid the human race of the fal'Cie Sanctum rule.

"Hey" Sazh said, as he slapped Snow on the back, "You looked deep in thought, something wrong?"

"Nah, just thinking things over." Snow responded, as he brought Serah and Lightning into view again and the smile returned to his face.

"You're one lucky guy to have a gal like Serah." Sazh told him.

"Don't I know it!" Snow responded back "I'm going to do everything I can to make her happy."

"Well, I have a feeling that's going to be a two-way street, kid. That's why you're one lucky guy." Sazh said chuckling, making Snow chuckle in return.

Lightning had taken the first watch, as usual, since she hated being woken once she fell asleep. Serah had draped the red cape she had around Lightning, to keep her warm during her watch.

Fang and Vanille had walked over and sat down with Lightning and Serah, and they all started quietly speaking among themselves. Fang's stories had Vanille and Serah giggling and laughing, Lightning was rolling her eyes and covering her face with hand, displaying a smirk on her face.

Hope walked over to Sazh and Snow, sitting down next to them, then asked "Why do girls always do that?" pointing to the four women, huddled together, whispering, giggling and laughing. "They used to do that in school, too. What are they talking about?" he questioned the two older men.

Snow and Sazh grinned at one another, while Sazh tried to answer "Mostly about things they don't want us guys to hear."

"Yeah," Snow went on "It's usually about us guys."

"I don't get it, what's so funny about us?" Hope questioned and was more confused than ever.

"Hope," Sazh said, "If we knew the answer to that, we could solve the mystery of life."

Snow started laughing at Sazh's remark, also noting "This is how we get into trouble without doing anything, too."

Sazh started laughing, "Yep!" agreeing with Snow.

Lightning suddenly stood up, with her hands on her hips, shouting "Serah!" looking down on her sister, and then narrowing her eyes on Snow.

"Oh, Oh" Snow murmured, turning to Hope and saying "See what I mean." Sazh lowered his head, trying to keep from bursting out laughing.

Serah tugged at the cape Lightning was wearing, getting her to sit back down. Then Hope heard his name, as all four women looked at him, then turned back to talking.

"Huh?" he asked "What did I do? Why did they look at me?"

Snow and Sazh just shrugged "Who knows, kid" Sazh commented, still chuckling.

"I give up" Hope said, shaking his head, "I'm going to bed."

Hope snuggled into his sleeping bag and started to drift off to sleep, listening to the muffled sounds of the women talking and laughing. Soon, everyone else was settling down to get some sleep, while Lightning started her watch for encroaching monsters that might wander into camp.

"So, what did I do to piss Sis off?" Snow quietly asked Serah, slipping his arm around his bride-to-be.

"Believe me, you don't want to know, but don't worry, she's over it. She was more upset with me than with you" Serah said, grinning at Snow and giving him a good-night kiss.

Listening to Fangs stories about her escapades with various male encounters, reminded her of times before her mother had passed away, before she became Lightning. She and her friends would gather outside of school to discuss things like who-got-kissed, the cutest boys in school, and who was going steady.

"I don't even remember their names anymore," Lightning thought "or what became of them. I shut them all out and became Lightning. I eventually even shut Serah out".

The guilt started eating at her again, as she slowly paced around the perimeter of the camp, her arms folded under the red cape.

"I can't change the past," she thought "but I can change the future, I just hope there will be a future to change." Listening to distant sounds of the night wildlife, she pondered what she wanted from her future and thinking of Gadot, hoping he made it safely out of the Purge.


	18. Chapter 18 - Chocobos and Cie'th Stones

_ I got a little silly with Eidolons, but it was sure fun to write. Thanks for reading and reviews are most welcome _

* * *

Dawn had broken; everyone was waking to face their new quest for Oerba. The leftover stew was being re-heated for breakfast and things were being packed for their journey. They were all enthusiastic about the trip, hoping to find the answers they were looking for.

Sazh glanced over at Snow and Serah, packing up their sleeping gear, and smiled. They always snuck out of camp when he was on watch, thinking he wouldn't see them leave. "Ah, to be young and in-love again," he thought "now that would be something."

Fang was in the lead, taking them down a narrow passageway they hadn't taken up to now. The passageway widened the further they went, and soon they stood at the entrance, gasping in awe at the vast open landscape that lay before them.

All kinds of wildlife wandered the plains and strange birds flew in the clear skies above. There were mountains in the distance and lakes could be seen close by. It was beautiful to behold and they all paused to take it all in.

"We're home Vanille" Fang said, as she looked at her friend, seeing the tears of joy running down her face.

"Yes, we are!" Vanille said, closing her eyes to breathe deeply, inhaling the familiar smells of home.

They cautiously proceeded onto the plain, when a strange looking object arose from the ground, hovering directly in front of was a three-quarter circle of stone with a figure in the center.

"It's a Cie'th Stone", Vanille announced.

"Yeah, it's a kind of Cie'th, it's in the last stage." Fang explained.

"Don't worry, it's no threat to anyone anymore" Vanille went on, "Cie'th will wander the wilds, eventually losing the will to go on and turn to stone."

"Even in this state, they can't forget the focus they once had." Fang continued the story "They call out to l'cie over and over – Complete my Focus."

"So they're doomed to eternal regret, huh" Sazh sadly said "That's pretty horrible".

Snow couldn't stand by and watch it suffering in front of him, and said "Hey, we should help this one out. Come on, we can't just ignore it. If we fail our focus, it could be us suffering like that."

"Wow, what a happy thought" Sazh said sarcastically, "That's not like you."

"But going out of his way to help someone. That's Snow all over." Lightning responded to Sazh.

Serah looked over at Lightning and smiled broadly at her sister, "She's starting to understand, to see him for who he is" she thought.

Snow reached out and touched the stone, making the outer ring shine a bluish color, displaying the focus it once had. This one's focus was to slay a Flan that was menacing one of the nearby lakes. Upon reaching the lake, they engaged the silvery-blue Flan, which was more difficult to take down than what they had originally anticipated.

"Look at the stone!" Hope shouted, pointing to the Cie'th Stone in the distance.

It had started glowing blue, emitting small sparkling blue lights around it. At long last, it's eternity of suffering had come to an end. Another Cie'th Stone arose from behind them, wanting its focus completed, also. Snow reached out and touched this one, just as he had done before, he just couldn't refuse a request for help.

They trekked from one stone to another, which led them to new places they hadn't explored before, fighting Cie's, beasts and goblins along the way, growing stronger and stronger with every battle. Snow delighted in helping the stones, to watch them glow, as if they were finally smiling at the end of their suffering.

The whole group was caught up in the quest to finish the stones' focuses, as they were taking as much delight in the achievement as Snow was. Some of the stones had partial maps of Gran Pulse, which aided them greatly in finding new areas to explore.

One mission led them to Pradda, once a grand city, now it lay in utter ruins before them. As Fang and Vanille stared at the ruins, Vanille told the group that she was remembering her old focus and started telling the story, tweaking it so Fang wouldn't know the truth.

Vanille told them she was the one that turned to Ragnarok and cracked the shell of Cocoon, so many centuries ago, during the War of Transgression. Sazh knew the truth but kept silent, not desiring to betray Vanille's trust in him.

Serah had listened to Vanille's story, and had remained silent. "There's something not right about it", she thought, "and Sazh knows more about it then he's letting on. Maybe later, I can ask him about it, when no one's around."

Another stone had risen behind them and it was a white transporting stone.

"Let's check out the ruins, we can find out what this ones' focus is on the way back." Snow suggested, while walking toward the entrance. Down into the ruins they descended, using the debris as stepping stones, leaping from one piece of debris to the other until they were finally at the bottom.

This place had an eerie feel to it and Lightning shouted to the others, "Stay close together!" as she started up some stairs, the others carefully following her lead.

To their dismay, the entire second tier was full of wandering Cie'th, engaging them from all sides and descending upon them from the sky.

"Bring it on!" Snow yelled at the monsters, as everyone pulled their weapons for the fight.

The battle ensued and shouts could be heard "You're nothing!" from Fang and "Try that on me!" from Snow. The area lit up from the magic striking its intended targets, casting eerie shadows on the surrounding walls and pillars.

The wails of the Cie'th echoed throughout the ruins and the sound of the whirling cyclones, conjured by the Cie'th, deafened their ears. The flashes of magic disappeared, and a sudden silence came over the ruins.

"That's the way it's done!" Lightning shouted, as she sheathed her blade - they had defeated them all.

In the center, of what once looked to be a plaza, was an altar with a lighted square in the middle. Five small Cie'th stones were lying flat on the altar, forming a circle around the square. Odd looking pillars surrounded the altar; some were still standing, while others were destroyed and had toppled over.

"Wonder what this is?" Hope asked. Fang and Vanille stared at it, as Fang responded "Don't know, kid", turning to Vanille, "Nope, me either" Vanille said, shaking her head.

"I have a bad feeling we're going to find out." Sazh stated, as he walked slowly around the structure, examining it carefully.

"Yeah" Lightning responded "I think you're right."

"Hey, over here!" Snow yelled "another stone!" The others came over and Serah touched the green stone.

The focus it revealed was more frightening than the others they had accomplished. They would have to engage and defeat a Cie'th called The Pillager - Bituitus; known as one of 'The Undying'.

Fang explained that 'The Undying' were fearsome Cie'th, defying the will of the fal'Cie and intensely hated everything that lives.

"We may as well take it on," she said "it will be seeking us out anyway, since we all still seem to be alive for the moment."

"The Cie'th is here, in this ruins, according to the stone" Serah said, as she started surveying the area.

"Keep your eyes open." Lightning warned everyone, and started walking towards the exit. They reached the bottom of the stairs and started across the debris, towards the exit, when a flying Cie'th appeared out of nowhere, flying high above their heads.

It spun in a circle, then swooped down, hovering to engage them in battle. It was the shape of a human, but its body and face were grey in color and, instead of arms, it had wings that were brightly colored, starting with red and white, then turning yellow at the ends.

They all fought hard and soon prevailed over the devilish thing, but it did not die as expected. Flying back high in the sky, it swirled around and dove to the middle of the altar. The small Cie'th stones reacted to its arrival by setting upright, then lying back down as a large oblong, crystal orb formed around the Cie'th.

"What the hell…" Snow slowly said, as they all watched in amazement at what had just happened.

"Yeah, what you just said" Sazh replied "I knew I had bad feeling about that thing, this isn't going to be good."

"Come on, let's get out of here." Lightning said to the others and started walking to where they had entered. They all followed her back up to the pathway and Lightning touched the white stone they had previously passed.

After completing the stones focus, it transported them back to the Yaschas Massif, to another white stone.

"Wow, that was cool!" Serah exclaimed.

"We definitely have to find more of the white stones," Vanille said enthusiastically, "That was fun!"

"Yeah!" Hope said smiling and agreeing with Vanille. Everyone was delighted by the experience, and they all started laughing when Sazh said "Now that's what I'd call traveling in style - Gran Pulse style that is!"

The second of the 'Undying' Cie'th had been defeated, gripping them with a foreboding feeling, as the body of gruesome creature had released a rainbow of light, shooting up and disappearing into the sky.

One passageway they found was sealed off by a red-glowing force field and a red Cie'th Stone was setting upright, just outside the barrier, wanting its focus completed. They took on the focus and, upon completing it, the stone not only glowed and sparkled like the others, it had removed the barrier to the passageway.

Another stones focus had sent them back to this place, and they were all delighted to find the barrier was gone. Proceeding down the path, Sazh smelled a familiar bad smell and pinched his nose with his fingers.

"That smell!", he yelled in excitement, "I know that smell!" and started running ahead of everyone to reach the end of the pathway, entering a large aquatic area, full of Chocobos.

"I knew it!" Sazh exclaimed, laughing. "Hey, you!" he yelled at the Chocobos, they all turned to look at him and started cackling back, running in all directions. The Chocobos were in danger from the leaping lizard-like frogs that had invaded the area, these frogs were the objective of the mission, and the group hurriedly rushed in to defeat them.

The Chocobos allowed the l'cie to ride them, so everyone hopped up on a Chocobo and they were off to find the next stone. A few of the stones were resting on high plateaus, but the birds had no trouble reaching them, allowing the team to complete more of the focuses of the stones.

Everyone enjoyed riding the birds, Serah raced past Snow, laughing and glancing back at him. "Hey! He shouted to her "Wait up!"

"Catch me, if you can!" She shouted back, taking great joy in teasing him.

Hope and Vanille were laughing at their antics, while Lightning shouted "Serah, be careful, you're going to get yourself hurt!"

On one of the plateaus, Sazh meet up with a small cactus-like creature that teased him by running circles around him. It infuriated him, and he tried to catch it, but it was incredibly fast, disappearing from sight and leaving his head spinning.

"Out run by a cactus" he said to himself, while dropping his head in disbelief.

A few of the stones would have to wait to have their focus completed by the l'cie, since they would have to grow more powerful and stronger to fulfill them. They now searched for a way through the mountains to reach Oerba, when Snow called to the others "Over here, I found a way though." It was a tunnel opening to the Mah'habara Subterra.

Darkness would soon be descending upon them, so they started setting up camp for the night and would enter the tunnel in the morning. Fang and Vanille set out to find food for dinner, while Snow and Hope set out for firewood. Serah took this opportunity to ask Sazh about Vanille's story, the one about Ragnarok.

"You know something more about Vanille's account of Ragnarok, don't you?" she asked him, as Lightning listened in. He looked at her, then glanced down to the ground, scratching nervously at the back of his neck.

"What she told us was mostly true" he responded hesitantly, "but it was Fang that turned to Ragnarok, not Vanille. She doesn't want Fang to know what happened, so she's taking claim to it, Vanille actually got scared and ran away. She never lost her memory, like Fang, but didn't want to complete the focus when she awoke, so she pretended not to remember."

Serah nodded her head, while saying "OK, I get it. I won't say anything."

"So that's why Fangs brand is scorched and Vanille's is not", Serah thought, "and that's probably why Fang lost her memory of the event. That would be a heavy burden for any human to bear."

Lightning shook her head and said, "It's not bad enough she knows what happened, but now she's trying to protect Fang from it."

Snow and Hope walked along searching for firewood, as Snow struck up a conversation.

"So, Hope, you have a girlfriend back home?"

"Not really" Hope said shyly, looking towards the ground, "I just don't know what to say to girls most of time. It's like, I freeze up around them."

"You sure don't seem to have that trouble around Vanille," Snow remarked, throwing some wood into a pile they had started.

"She's different, she makes you talk, whether you want to or not. I just wish she'd quit hugging me." Hope responded, bending down to pick up some wood.

Snow grinned and said "Why's that? Thought you'd like to have a pretty girl hugging you."

"That's the trouble, I like it a lot, and then all these thoughts start going through my head and, well….." Hope explained, as a grimace came over his face.

"Hug her back," Snow offered, "She'll either stop doing it, or it could lead to something else, you never know."

A look of surprise came across Hope's face, as he digested what Snow had just said to him.

Then, staring Snow in face, asked "What if leads to something else? Then what do I do?"

Snow ruffled the top of Hopes head and said with a grin "Tell her how you feel, find out what she feels, then go from there. You'll know what to do."

Hope nervously nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"Come on, let's get this wood back to camp" Snow suggested, slapping Hope on the back.

"Yeah, OK" was the response from Hope as they gathered up the wood and headed for camp.

Fang and Vanille came back with wild boar meat for dinner, along with vegetables and herbs they had collected along the way. Serah was enthused to be learning about new types of food to cook, as the two showed her the traditional way to prepare them.

Sazh had found some metal rods and had rigged up a crude rotisserie over the spot the where the fire would be. Hope conjured up a small amount of his fire magic and they instantly had a fire going under the rotisserie as the meat started cooking. Sazh tended the fire so it didn't get too hot and turned the meat to cook it evenly, adding Serah's glaze to the meat as he turned it.

"Dinner was great!" Snow commented, as he finished his meal.

"Yeah!, It turned out really good, Fang didn't drown her meat in salt this time, thanks to the glaze Serah made." Vanille teased, as Fang gave her a deadly glare, making everyone laugh. The daylight was starting to fade, as the sky was turning orange with the setting of the sun.

"I'm going to fill up my water bottle", Hope announced "anybody else need theirs filled?"

"I'll go with you, Hope" Vanille offered, as she started collecting the bottles from everyone.

Hope glanced over to Snow with a concerned look on his face and Snow gave him wink of encouragement. The two walked in the direction of the waterfall, as everyone else busied themselves with cleaning up the camp and preparing the bedding for the night.

Serah and Snow decided to take a walk to a big rock they spotted, overlooking one of the lakes. They sat side by side, watching the sun slowly go down. He had his arm around Serah, holding her close and she had both arms wrapped around his waist. From camp, Lightning, Sazh and Fang could see their silhouettes against the setting sun and the occasional flash of blue or green would appear from their brands.

"I have to admit," Sazh said "I envy those two. Life can be lonely when you don't have someone to share it with."

"Humph, I ain't ready for that" Fang said "Too many possibilities yet to explore," winking her eye at Lightning and Sazh.

Lightning rolled her eyes and shook her head, while Sazh lowered his head to hide the smirk on his face.

"This woman is really something else" Lightning thought "I can't believe the stuff that comes out of her mouth."

The waterfall was hidden from view of the camp and Fang was getting worried, "Hey Vanille!" Fang yelled "you guys OK over there?"

"Yah, were fine," Vanille yelled back. "Don't worry. We'll be there soon!"

"Snow, if it weren't for all the monsters, I really love it here." Serah reflected, "Everything here is so beautiful."

"Funny," Snow replied softly to her "I was thinking the same thing; maybe someday we can make this our home."

"Wouldn't that be something," she said dreamily, "a home and family on beautiful Gran Pulse.

He hugged her tightly with his arm, "Yah, a big family" he said with a smile, and she laughed back at him "Yep, a big family."

The last bit of sunlight was gone, and, as beautiful as the twilight was, they decided to get back to camp before darkness set in. Hand in hand, they slowly walked back to camp, still talking of the possibilities of a home on Gran Pulse.

Hope and Vanille walked back into camp with the water bottles, Snow and Serah arriving shortly thereafter. Snow noticed Hope had a different expression on his face, and smiled "Must have led to something else" he thought. Hope sat down on a log and Snow walked over, sitting down beside him, to find out what had happened at the waterfall.

"Well?" he asked as he sat down, "how'd it go?"

"I did like you said, and I hugged her back." Hope said quietly.

"And?" Snow asked with anticipation in his voice.

"Well, I think it surprised her because she pulled away," Hope answered, "We talked for a long time, then she hugged me again. I hugged her back and she kissed me, I mean, she really kissed me."

"First kiss, Huh?" Snow asked, smiling.

"Yah" Hope shyly said, looking down, with a smile on his face, "We decided we really like each other, but only as good friends, too much of an age difference."

"See, you just have to talk to them, kid. You'll be fine" Snow told him, Hope nodding his head in agreement.

Fang noticed that Snow and Serah's brands were flickering differently and sat down next Vanille, to watch them for a while. They seemed to be emitting small streamers of light when the two were touching each other.

"Hmmm" she thought "I could have some fun with this. Snow has two exotic, female Eidolons, who are sisters, and is engaged to Serah, who just happens to have an overly protective, prudish sister."

"Hey, Vanille. What do you make of that?" she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, pointing to Snow and Serah.

"Oh my!" Vanille exclaimed, "Looks like the sisters and Orion like each other."

Everyone looked over and saw the faint streamers of light, as they playfully danced with each other in the air. Fang watched for Lightning's reaction, and, just as she thought, the soldier started shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Better watch out Light, one of the sisters might be coming for Odin" Fang teased, with a smirk on her face, "You are the little one's sister after all."

"What!" Lightning shouted, as she covered her brand with her hand.

"Our Eidolons feel what we feel and the little one loves both of you" Fang continued, feeling deliciously evil in teasing the soldier, "They might want Odin to come play with them, you know, even things up a bit"

"Humph! Odin wouldn't do that, besides, I don't believe you" Lightning quickly retorted, glaring at Fang.

"Come on Light, loosen up" Fanged taunted back, "Odin might like it", raising an eyebrow and smirking at her.

"You're impossible" Lighted shouted back, and turned her back on Fang. Everyone was giggling and snickering at Fang's antics.

"Fang!" Vanille scolded, "Quit teasing Light."

"Ok, Ok. Just having a little fun, Vanille" she replied "Don't get your panties in a bunch!"

Worried there might be some truth in what Fang had said, Lightning whispered so no one could hear, "Odin, don't listen to her, she's wicked, stay here with me." The thought of Odin consorting with Snow's 'sisters' made her cringe.

Everyone started bedding down for the night, Lightning taking her first watch. She really enjoyed the solitude of the watch, as it gave her a chance to think clearly. She sat by the fire with Serah's red cape draped over her, watching the flames as they danced and crackled before her.

"There has to be a way out of this" she thought "to be free of this curse and to be free of the fal'Cie, once and for all. We just have to find it"


	19. Chapter 19 - Mah'habara Subterra

_Sorry it took so long to get this one done, but time has been scarce. Please review and Thank You in advance for reading..._

* * *

No one liked the idea of entering the tunnel, but there was no other route for them to take.

"How are we going to see in there?" Hope asked, as he felt the perspiration forming on his brow.

"We'll figure out something – torches maybe" Lightning told him calmly, seeing the anxiety on the kids face.

"Come on, let's get this over with" Fang said impatiently, as she starting pacing back and forth.

"Fang!" Vanille shouted, "Calm down!", placing her hands on her hips.

"I know, I know… Just standing here, doing nothing, it's making me nervous." Fang replied, with a scowl on her face.

Slowly, they began to enter the tunnel, allowing their eyes to adjust to the quickly diminishing light. The air became stale and dank, prompting Hope to immediately comment, "I don't like the air in here."

Snow walked up from behind him and placed his hand on Hopes shoulder, "Neither do I, kid, but we'll get through this, Ok?" Hope nervously nodded his head, trying to shake off his claustrophobic feelings of this place.

Old, abandoned mining equipment was scattered along the path, still glowing with the energy that once powered them, creating the only light source in tunnel. Every shadow and sound was creepy, distorting their senses, and creating anxiety for them all. The dripping of water echoed eerie sounds to their ears, as they descended deeper down into the shaft of the tunnel.

Serah clung tightly to Snow's arm, "Snow, I'm so scared, and I don't know why" she whispered, as she didn't want the others to hear.

"I know, baby. Just stay close to me, I won't let anything happen to you." he replied, trying to reassure her. His own distaste for this place was eating at his guts, but he wasn't about to show it to anyone.

Lightning and Fang took point, while Sazh stayed close to Hope and Vanille. The ground beneath their feet was rocky and muddy, occasionally making their footing unstable. They could hear the clanking of something directly in front of them and Lightning held up her hand to halt; slowly she crept up to find out what it was.

On returning, she announced "It's those mechanical robot things ahead of us. We shouldn't have too much trouble taking them down. Everybody ready?"

They all responded they were ready to fight, and Snow said "Let's give em hell, guys!" Rushing in, they quickly engaged the robots, annihilating them into heaps of scrap metal.

Their anxiety began to diminish, as they all started concentrating on the upcoming battles, trying to ignore the creepiness of their surroundings. It wasn't long before they were engaged by bombs, brown flan, and more robots. The battles were a welcome distraction, as they honed their skills with each fight.

The tunnel suddenly forked, so they paused to decide which way to go.

"Should we explore this tunnel now, or come back to it later?" Serah asked the others.

"I say we keep going" Fang interjected, "find out what's ahead us, we can always come back to this one."

Sazh agreed with Fang, and no one objected, so they continued on the main path of the tunnel. It finally opened up to a large cavern with large platforms to walk on. Stairways connected the multi-tiered platforms and protective railings ran around the perimeters.

Beyond the perimeters of the platforms, was a newly created tunnel. Fang walked up to the railing, and proudly proclaimed, "A Gran Pulse fal'Cie made that path."

Vanille added "Yep, I bet it's off digging new tunnels right now."

"They seem different from all of the fal'Cie we've seen on Cocoon, you know? It seems they just plow through without caring what happens around them." Hope stated.

"That's true" Fang replied "then again, we were able to build our villages on land cleared by the fal'Cie. We lived alongside them, just like you do on Cocoon."

Sazh sarcastically responded, "Oh yeah, this is JUST like Cocoon."

Fang glared at him, he wasn't sure if she was going to smack him or not, so he put up his arms in front of face.

"Humph" she replied, walking off to join the others.

"Oh look!" Vanille exclaimed, "It's another way stone!"

"That will be useful." Lightning reflected, "If we can finish its focus, we'll be able to easily transport in and out of here." Vanille touched the stone, and they were off to finish its mission, to take down one of those Billow type robots.

It was waiting for them, on the other side of a bridge, just ahead. Just as they walked out onto the bridge, a loud rumbling sound could be heard and the bridge started shaking. The rumbling sound intensified and bridge shook violently.

"Heads up, guys!" Snow yelled, grabbing Serah's arm to steady her. They spread out their feet and arms to balance themselves, as a huge round-metal object, with red whirling blades, sped underneath of the bridge.

"Whoa, look at that thing!" Snow shouted, then turned to Vanille and said, "Let me guess, that's a fal'Cie."

"Yep, busy carving out new tunnels" she exclaimed, delighted at her knowledge of such things.

"Making roads where roads weren't meant to go, huh. Kinda sounds like us. All right, then! Let's hitch a ride on that thing!" Snow said smiling, as he clinched his fist in front of him.

"Now you're thinking Gran Pulse style!" Vanille excitedly responded. Serah laughed at the exchange the two had. "Vanille really loves Pulse", she thought, "Just like we love Cocoon."

"The fal'Cie seem to have a focus of their own" Lightning said.

"I think your right Light, they are all searching for that door." Serah responded, then pondered aloud "I wonder if that's why they were created, to fulfill a focus that was given to them and not much more."

Continuing across the bridge, they found their mission mark, along with the other robots it commanded. If that wasn't bad enough, they would have to destroy another group of robots before engaging the mission mark.

"I see our luck is still holding up." Sazh snorted, shaking his head in disbelief.

"We can do this, Pops!" Vanille told him, in her attempt to keep his spirits up.

He smiled at Vanille and said "You bet we can! Come on!"

"We have to take down the commander robot first" Lightning warned, "The other robots will be helpless without it."

"Hit them hard, then hit them again!" Snow yelled as they rushed in, attacking the robots head on, concentrating on the large commander. Their power had grown so great; they had little trouble taking down the first group of robots in a matter of minutes.

Wasting no time, they rushed towards their mark and repeated the battle, successfully destroying the robots and completing the focus of the way stone.

"Now we have an easy way in and out of here" Lightning said, "I have a feeling we'll need to come back here and search the other tunnels". A brown flan was now blocking the path, but it only took a few blows from Snow and Lightning to take it out.

"Did you see that!" he proudly proclaimed, raising his fist in the air.

The path began to narrow again, and the tunnel seemed to be closing in on them, but they quickly kept moving forward.

Hope suddenly exclaimed, "Smell that? Its fresh air! I smell fresh air!" Everyone could smell, and feel, the difference in the air, as the light in the tunnel grew steadily brighter with each step forward.

Shortly, they were exiting the tunnel, standing in small grassy meadow.

"It's beautiful!" Vanille screeched in her high pitched voice.

"I say - this is a perfect spot for a breather" Sazh proclaimed, throwing himself to the ground and stretching out in the lush, green grass. The others all laughed at his antics, and agreed this was a great spot to relax in for a while.

Serah sat down in the grass, stretching her legs out, while Snow laid down on his back, resting his head on her lap. She slipped the bandana from Snow's head and playfully ran her fingers through his hair.

"Good grief" Lightning thought to herself, as she walked over to them, then sitting next to Serah, crossing her legs in front of her.

"So, any plans for the wedding?" Lightning asked, trying to pry some information from them.

"Well, we didn't have much time to discuss anything, Light. We were engaged one day and purged the next." Serah responded, then continued, "But, we just want a small wedding, you know, just our closest friends, and most importantly you, since you're all the family that Snow and I have."

Serah's words had left her speechless; "I'm the only family that SNOW and Serah have" she thought, running the words through her mind, again. "Does he actually consider me as 'his' family, too?" She felt a pang of guilt running through her, "I thought the 'Sis' thing was just a way to piss me off, I never thought he really meant it".

"Hey Light, I've been thinking about what Barthandelus said to us - 'that Cocoon would be torn asunder' - if Ragnarok destroys Orphan. I know that can only mean that Cocoon will fall from the sky, killing everyone, and destroying Cocoon and Pulse. What's bothering me is Barthandelus has the power to kill everyone on Cocoon, he demonstrated that on the Palamecia, but why is it so important that Cocoon itself has to be destroyed – something that Raines claimed the fal'Cie could not do."

Lightning thought for a moment, then responded "Maybe it's something like Hope said, destroy everything, then start all over again, which the Maker would have to return to do."

Serah turned, staring at Hope, napping in the grass, "Yeah… maybe. But the question is 'Why'."

"Something's eating at you, Serah – What is it?" Lightning asked her quietly.

"I'm not sure, yet. I'll tell you when I figure out a couple of things." she said, turning back and looking down at Snow.

Serah snickered, as Snow had fallen asleep. "Works every time" she said, smiling at Lightning, "All I have to do is run my fingers through his hair for a while, and he falls fast asleep." The two sisters snickered at each other, while Snow was peacefully sleeping away, his hair in complete disarray from Serah's playful fingers.

Fang and Vanille had wandered off together; Vanille was her usual bubbly self, skipping along and admiring the scenery. Suddenly, she squealed in delight and ran to beautiful patch of wildflowers growing at the side of the path. Kneeling down, she closed her eyes and inhaled the aroma of the familiar fragrance.

"These flowers, you remember them, don't you?" she questioned, turning to look at Fang.

"Sure I do, they grew all over Oerba." Fang replied as she continued to walk down the path.

Vanille trotted gingerly behind her, "We can't be far now!" she gleefully exclaimed.

Shortly, Fang stated "It's my fault, Gran Pulse ended up like this, isn't it?"

Vanille gasped "What..", stopping short, and widening her eyes in horror.

"I remember everything" Fang proclaimed "I became Ragnarok, I scarred Cocoon, and I left Gran Pulse in this mess. It was me."

"What are you talking about?" Vanille asked, in a sullen and broken voice, lowering her head as she spoke.

"It all came back to me. Everything that happened with our focus. All of it." Fang goaded.

"You're lying" Vanille retaliated loudly, as her brand started to glow a bright yellow.

"No, it's the truth. It's all my fault." Fang replied calmly.

"Don't say that!" Vanille screamed back at her, as pain shot from her brand, causing her to cry out.

Fang, hearing her sounds of distress, turned and yelled "Vanille!"

A brilliant circle of white light appeared at Vanille's feet, then grew larger, developing large spear-like designs on the outer edges. The hue changed to an aquamarine color, and smaller dark circles appeared within the large circle.

The circle of light broke up into bands of circles that rose up, surrounding Vanille. Mechanical appendages came out of the small dark circles, swirling faster and faster around Vanille. Suddenly the Eidolon, Hecatoncheir, was standing in front of them.

His appearance was human-like, clad in red and green armor, and sported four arms, instead of two. There were large turrets at shoulder height, one at each side of his armor, with strange mechanical appendages extending from them. His stature was large, standing twice the size as the two women that stood in front of him.

Fang readied her weapon, then told Vanille, "The Eidolon knows the truth. Ha ! I knew I was right."

Vanille turned slightly towards Fang, confronting her, "Wait! So you were lying!"

Fang, still concentrating on the Eidolon, responded back, "No more than you were. Admit it, you remember everything."

Vanille protested back "It wasn't. It wasn't your fault!"

"Vanille!" Fang yelled, trying to get her companion to see the situation they were in "We should talk about this later!"

Vanille pulled her weapon and now concentrated on the Eidolon in front of them. The battle began and the Eidolon was formable opponent. The strange appendages would fire upon them, like a machine gun, and the Eidolon could wield Quake magic, shaking the ground beneath their feet, delivering a fierce blow from boulders that erupted from the ground.

Fang used her sentinel abilities to keep the attacks away from Vanille, enabling Vanille to use her magic against the Eidolon. Quickly, she cast her saboteur magic, then switched to revenger to deal him some damage. Fang occasionally wielded her weapon on Hecatoncheir, while Vanille used her medic magic to heal Fang.

The battle continued for some time before the Eidolon finally submitted to Vanille. He transformed himself into an odd looking vehicle, with machine gun turrets at the front and the back of the vehicle. Hecatoncheir then dissipated into the air and would wait until Vanille called on his assistance again.

"I knew something was off. You've been shying away from our focus ever since we woke up on Cocoon. I couldn't figure it out." Fang explained, as Vanille lowered her head. Small whimpers could be heard from Vanille as she listened.

"But, then it all made sense, after hearing that story from Raines. You already knew. You already knew that Ragnarok was the name of destruction." Fang continued as her voice became stern.

"It wasn't fair, you had to do all the horrible stuff, and I didn't have to do anything." Vanille whimpered back.

"That's no reason to lie to me!" Fang yelled, her voice becoming angrier with each word. "You think that's what I want, you of all people!" Fang clinched her hand into fist and drew it back, as to land a punch to Vanille. Vanille yelped, but made no move to avoid, or defend against, the incoming hit from Fang.

Vanille shut her eyes, anticipating the blow she felt she deserved for lying to Fang. All she felt was a gentle tap to her head, as Fang couldn't hurt Vanille, no matter how angry she was with her.

"Poor kid, you've had it rough." Fang said, as Vanille opened her eyes. Tears started streaming down Vanille's face, as she muttered out "Fang".

"Listen, you're not alone anymore" Fang said in soft voice, holding the girl to comfort her.

"I'm so sorry" Vanille choked out between her sobs of regret.

"Keep that up, and you'll have me crying soon. We have a new family now. We stick together, you hear me" Fang reassured her, patting her back.

"We better get back" Vanille said, as her tears started to diminish, "The others will be worried."

Fang and Vanille walked back to where they had left the others. "What took you so long?" Lightning demanded, "We were about to go looking for you" the irritation in her voice was unmistakable.

"Vanille finally came clean about Ragnarok, with some persuasion from her Eidolon." Fang stated, still a little upset with Vanille for lying to her.

No one asked about what that meant, so Fang knew immediately that she was the only one that did not know the truth. "So you all knew, huh?" Fang questioned.

"Serah figured it out, when Vanille first told the story" Lightning responded, "We knew Vanille would tell you, eventually."

Serah walked up to Vanille, and said "Hope you're not angry with me."

Vanille shook her head, "No, but how did you know?"

Serah smiled at her "It didn't make sense that the one who's brand is scorched and has no memory of the events, would not have been the one that turned to Ragnarok. Sazh confirmed it for me."

"I have some questions I need to ask you later," Serah said very quietly to Vanille, "Will that be alright with you?" Vanille nodded her head in agreement.

"Come on!" Fang shouted to everyone, "It's time to get a move on". The meadow is completely cut off, so we have to use the caverns to keep going."

"Great! Back into hell we go" Hope mumbled to himself, following the others into the next tunnel system ahead of them. He felt the cold sweat piercing his brow once more, as the light grew dim and his lungs inhaled the stale, dank air of the tunnels.


	20. Chapter 20 - Sulyya Springs

_This chapter finishes up the tunnels - They will have to return, but now they have the way stones to transport in and out of here. The game gets tweaked a few times and you can expect more as the chapters continue. __Please review and thanks for reading… Its been fun writing this and I appreciate your support_

* * *

The tunnel system seemed endless to Hope, twisting and turning, going on forever. He felt he would die down here in this hellish place, never to see daylight or to breathe fresh air again. He tried hard not to think about it, but he couldn't stop his mind from torturing him with the thoughts of being trapped down here forever.

Another cavern opened up, with the same multi-tiered platforms and stairways as before. On one of platforms above them, a juggernaut was slowly lumbering back and forth, as if it was guarding something valuable.

"Stay away from that thing" Fang warned the others, "We don't need to take it on – there's nothing up there worth fighting it for." Far above them, there were other juggernauts, all pacing aimlessly back and forth, just as this one was.

The sound of the fal'Cie, Atomos, could be heard in the distance, continuing to dig tunnels and pathways through the rock, occasionally whizzing past them, digging out a deep trench that lay just beyond the platform they were standing on.

They were all searching for a way to proceed when Sazh concluded, "No way through. Man, that fal'Cie must have been slacking."

Hope panicked, "No, there HAS to be a way through" his thoughts were racing through his mind, "I don't want to go back, there just has to be a way!"

An abandoned juggernaut was slumped down in front of them; no one paid much attention to it, except Hope. He made a desperate move, one he was sure would get them out of the tunnels. "It worked in the Ville Peaks, maybe we can use this again, to get us out of this dam place." he reasoned to himself, as he climbed unseen up into the operator's seat.

The controls were different than the one at the Ville Peaks, but he was sure he could make it work. He turned on the power, and the robot started walking before he was ready to control it.

"AWWWWW!" he screamed "Wait! Stop already!"

Hope's screams made everyone turn to witness him trying to control the mechanical beast he was perched upon.

"Eh, It's the Ville Peaks all over again" Lightning groaned, shaking her head in disbelief. The robot lurched forward, throwing Hope off and over the protective barrier; down into the trench Atomos was digging.

"Hope!" Lightning shouted with urgency, "Get out of there!" Hope had no more gotten to his feet, when he could see Atomos coming straight towards him.

"AWWWWWW!" he screamed again, throwing his arms up in front of his face. Everyone froze in horror – they were helpless to assist – there was no time to stop it.

The juggernaut that Hope was trying to operate suddenly jumped down into the ditch, walking in front of Hope and straight into the path of Atomos.

"Is he trying to stop it?" Hope questioned, then yelled, "You can do it!" More juggernauts were jumping into the ditch from the other platforms above them, all walking into the path of Atomos.

Lightning looked on in amazement, "What are they doing?"

Atomos sped directly into the barricade of juggernauts, slowing the fal'Cie and eventually bringing it to a complete stop, saving Hope from his worst nightmare of dying in these endless underground tunnels.

"Woo!" Snow shouted, "Well that was cool! Go robot guys!"

Sazh reflected on what he had just seen, "Good lesson for us, not even a mighty fal'Cie is a match for teamwork. That's inspiration right there."

"Save the sermon old man." Fang sarcastically said to him, feeling vindicated for all of the jokes Sazh made about Gran Pulse, "Let's hop on trailblazer here, while we still have the chance."

Hope made it back to the platform, glancing down at the juggernauts that had saved him from certain death. "Why did they save me?" he thought, "What made them do it?"

Little did Hope know, that Serah was thinking the same thing. "Am I the only one that thought that was really weird?" she wondered to herself, "These things try to kill us at every opportunity, but then suddenly decide to save Hope?"

They all boarded Atomos though the door located in the center of the massive ball of metal. The room inside was rather cramped, and they all placed their hands over their ears when the fal'Cie started moving, as it made a tremendous amount of noise, continuing to dig the trench while it sped along to its next destination.

Atomos grinded to stop a short time later and the door flung open, allowing the passengers to exit onto a small grassy island.

"I wonder where we are?" Hope asked, looking around at the scenery.

"There's another Cie'th stone over there" Fang remarked, pointing to the far-end tip of the island.

Vanille raced over to the stone "Oh good, it's another way stone" she informed the others as she touched it to discover its focus. "Its focus is in there" she told the others, pointing to the cavern opening, which was the only path they could take to proceed anyway.

"We must be close to surface" Vanille commented while glancing upward, "Look at the light coming through the holes in the ceiling."

Everyone looked up and saw the small rays of light piercing through the small holes in the ceiling of the cavern. No one was as more relieved to see sunlight than Hope, all he wanted was to get out of these tunnels as quickly as possible, he had withstood all he could take of them.

They walked into next tunnel opening to seek the way stone's target, then to continue their journey out of tunnels and onward to Oerba. The tunnel was different than the rest of tunnels they had been traveling though, it was lush with grasses and mosses that grew in low levels of light, and the air was slightly fresher.

The tunnel was short and opened up into another large cavern that was breathtakingly beautiful to behold. Misty waterfalls ran down the rocky walls into pools of water on both sides of a rocky outcropping in the middle.

Vanille gasped at the beauty and Serah held her hands clasped under her chin, as she gazed upon the sight.

"It's so gorgeous" Vanille slowly said.

"I've never seen anything like this" Serah responded to her, "It's absolutely beautiful."

Large holes in the ceiling allowed light to penetrate the cavern, and the calming sound of the misty waterfalls eased the anxiety that was ravaging poor Hope. There was one large opening in the ceiling, and in the center, they could see Cocoon surrounded by the blue sky outside. They all stood silent, gazing up at the object that they were all trying to save from the fal'Cie.

"Let's get a move on, guys" Lightning said quietly, breaking the silence and bringing everyone back to the reality they were facing.

"Onward, we go!" Sazh jested, motioning his hand to the other end of the cavern.

Fang and Vanille lingered a little longer, staring at Cocoon. "Centuries ago we tried to destroy it, now here we are trying to save it" Fang mused to Vanille.

"Yeah, it's pretty strange, Huh?" she responded to her friend.

"Just hope we get it right, this time" Fang said, as she turned to follow the others. Vanille nodded her head in agreement and followed Fang, wondering what life would be like without this terrible curse they carried.

Leaping from one stone outcropping to another, they encountered a large group of the jumping frogs, and they were coming straight for them. Snow, Lightning and Fang all attacked with their blitz moves, taking down half of the frogs in one attack. The leaping frogs were no longer a match for the l'cie's power, and the frogs went down in ease.

The plateaus of rocks were littered with leaping frogs and the large Orobon creatures. They fought through them all, clearing the area of the beasts, leaving only the mission mark left to defeat. Four Uridimmu waited for them atop the highest outcropping of rocks, crouching and growling, ready to attack.

"Bring it on!" Snow shouted at the beasts, and the battle ensued.

"And I was just getting started" Fang exclaimed, as the last monster fell dead to the ground.

"Let's keep that up!" Hope proclaimed, proud of the victory they had just won.

"Look," Serah said, pointing to one of the plateaus, "It's a Cie'th Stone that's still lying down."

"We'll have to come back later" Fang told her, "to see if it rises. Some of the stones take longer to activate themselves."

Hope didn't like what he had heard, but he already knew they would have to come back to these nightmarish tunnels, eventually. They had left too many of them unexplored, but for now, he was relieved to think they were almost to surface, where humans were meant to be.

Hope took off on a run, passing the others and taking point, "Hope! Stay close!" Lightning warned him, "We don't know what's ahead of us!"

"Alright!" he responded to her, slowing down to allow the others to catch up. "She's right" he thought "I have to stay focused, we'll be out of here soon enough."

The visibility in the tunnel was gradually getting lighter, and soon they were all standing on the surface again. Cocoon was almost right above them, bringing back nostalgic feelings to the five of them that called it home.

"It seems so far away, now" Snow remarked, placing his arm around Serah.

"Yeah" Hope agreed, "but we'll make it back, somehow."

"Sure we will" Sazh added reassuringly, patting the kid on the shoulder, "We'll make it back there, no matter what!"

"We better make camp" Lightning instructed, "I'll be dark soon."

Fang and Vanille set out to hunt something down for dinner, while Lightning, Snow and Serah investigated the surrounding area, looking for any dangerous creatures that might be lurking, waiting to attack them during the night.

During their search of the area, they came across a large open meadow; the grassy-like plants were a foot high and danced in the gentle breeze that swept over them. Hundreds of large dandelion-like balls of seeds were riding gracefully upon the breeze; the center of the balls glistened in the sunlight, and was a spectacular sight to behold.

Lightning reached out to allow one to rest in her hand, but the ball burst the moment it touched her hand, which brought a look of surprise and amazement across Lightning's face, as she watched the seeds it emitted float off in the breeze.

Serah stood alone at the edge of meadow, staring aimlessly over Gran Pulse and lost in her thoughts. Lightning started walking towards her, when Snow reached out and gently grabbed Lightning's arm, stopping her progression.

Lightning threw him a deathly glare, and he immediately released her, throwing up both hands in a surrendering gesture.

"She's thinking, Sis" he warned her, "You'll startle her. She always gets like this when she's thinking about something."

She glanced towards Serah, then back at Snow "So, you know her that well, Huh? What is she thinking about?"

"I don't know what she's thinking" he mused, as he played with the seed balls floating in the air, "But, I've seen her do this a few times before."

"Something's been eating at her, Snow" Lightning shared with him. "I think it has something to do with Hope. Has she said anything to you?"

"Nope, not a word," he said, "but I've noticed she's been a little quiet lately."

"What's with this 'Sis' thing anyway" Lightning confronted him, deciding to put an end to this little game he was playing with her, "Are you calling me that just to piss me off?" she demanded.

Snow turned to see her eyes narrowing on him, looking into that icy stare of hers. He simply replied, "NO!" turning abruptly and walking away from her.

"Wait", Lightning urged, "So, you mean it, you consider me family?" Snow stopped, but did not turn to face her, "Yeah. Serah will be my wife, and you will be my sister. I thought you would see it that way."

"That's all I needed to know" Lightning responded to him, crossing her arms in front of her.

"So, you're good?" Snow asked, still not turning to look at her.

"I'm good" she replied. A smile came to Snow's face as he heard those words from her; his dream of a family was becoming a reality.

"Hey, guys! Don't leave without me!" Serah shouted, as she ran towards them.

"We would never leave you behind, baby." Snow replied, hugging his bride-to-be.

Lightning walked up to Serah and placed her hand on Serah's back, "Come on, let's get back to camp, we've got a lot to do".

The three of them walked side by side back to camp; Snow and Lightning could feel the tension had eased considerably between them, as they were gradually coming to terms with one another.

"Hey, they found their way back" Sazh joked, looking at Hope, as Lightning, Snow and Serah walked into camp. "Thought maybe you guys got lost or something" Sazh teased the three of them.

"Hey, hero's don't get lost!" Snow retorted, and everyone snickered at the remark.

Fang and Vanille strolled back into camp, very pleased with what they found for dinner. Fang proudly displayed the results of their hunt, four plump pheasant-sized birds. Their iridescent feathers glistened in the slowly fading sunlight, as Fang laid them out for everyone to see.

"We call them Chickabo's" she informed them, "They're related to the Chocobo's, and they're great eating."

Vanille had a bag that she had carefully placed on the ground, "Look, we found breakfast, too!" She gingerly opened the bag, displaying two dozen Chickabo eggs they had collected for breakfast.

"Hey, you guys did good!" Sazh exclaimed, "I can taste those eggs already!" Vanille giggled at Sazhs enthusiasm when it came to food.

"So, who's good at feather plucking?" Fang asked, "I'm not doing this by myself."

"I never done it before, but I'll help" Serah offered, "Just show me what to do."

"I've plucked game birds before" Snow informed Fang, "Give me one. I'll show you how to do it, Serah."

Vanille took the remaining bird, and the four of them started 'de-feathering' their dinner.

Sazh walked over to Lightning and asked "Snow sure knows a lot about wild game, does he hunt a lot?"

"Nah," Lightning told him "Snow and his friend grew up in one of the Sanctums orphanages, when you turn fifteen, you're coerced into joining PSICOM or go it alone. They choose to go it alone, and this is how they learned to survive."

"That's horrible" Sazh said, "I didn't know they did that to those kids!"

"Humph! They tried to do the same thing to me, when our mother died." Lightning confessed to him, "I had to take care of Serah and keep her out of that place, so I enlisted in the Guardian Corps."

Sazh shook his head in disbelief, "Treating kids like that - that's just wrong! If something were to happen to me, Dajh could end up in one of those places!"

"Hey, old man" Fang shouted "Are you going to get the fire set up, or are we going to eat these things raw?"

"Ok, Ok – I'm on it." Sazh snapped back, "Come on Hope, give me a hand."

Hope and Sazh set up the fire and constructed another crude rotisserie to cook the birds on. Sazh was once again in charge of operating the rotisserie to turn birds and cook them evenly.

"These taste like the grouse we have back on Cocoon, but these are bigger have more flavor to them." Serah remarked, as she ate her meal.

"We used to raise them in the villages for food," Fang told the group, "now they're wild, and harder to catch. But, we got them, didn't we Vanille?"

"Yep! We sure did!" she proudly replied.

"I'm glad you did, because they are delicious" Sazh said, savoring the meal.

Once dinner was over, Serah found the right moment to speak to Fang and Vanille privately. "Can I ask you guys some questions?"

"Sure, little one" Fang responded, "What's on your mind?"

Serah motioned her finger over her lips, indicating she didn't want anyone to hear them. "Did either of you tell Hope about Oerba, before he passed out?" Serah whispered.

"Not me" Fanged quietly said, "The kid doesn't come anywhere near me."

Vanille gave Fang a disapproving look and said, "That's because you scare him to death, Fang, and you know it. Shame on you."

Fang smiled evilly back at Vanille, feeling quite pleased with herself.

"How about you Vanille?" Serah asked, "Did you tell him anything about Oerba, or mention that you and Fang are from there?"

"I don't think so Serah, not before he passed out." Vanille whispered back "We did talk about Oerba later, though. Why?"

Serah thought for a moment, and then decided to share with the two what was bothering her.

"Remember when Hope woke up, remember what he said? Oerba, the place where it all began, Fang and Vanille's home, where the fal'Cie lie sleeping. How did he know that?" Serah quietly asked, "If you guys didn't tell him, and what does it mean, exactly? Do you know?"

Vanille looked down at the ground, then back at Serah, "Well, Fang and I were branded in Oerba, so our ordeal started there, but I don't know about the fal'Cie part. How about you, Fang, do you know?"

"Nope, not a clue" Fang replied, "Maybe it was something that happened after we turned to crystal."

Serah thanked them for the information, then turned to rejoin the others at the campfire. Fang and Vanille followed her, curious as to what was going to happen next. Serah sat next to Snow and he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders to keep her warm.

"You're so sweet" she whispered to him "I just love you to pieces."

He grinned at her, and whispered back, "I love you too, baby", as he draped his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"Hope, what did you mean when you said 'Oerba, the place where it all began', you know, after you passed out, then finally woke up?" Serah asked him flat out, "and you said it was Fang and Vanille's home and that the fal'Cie lay sleeping there. What did it all mean?"

Hope looked puzzled, as he stared back at Serah, "I didn't say anything like that, how would I know stuff like that?

"Hey, we all heard you, kid" Snow replied, glancing at Lightning. Now they knew what had been bothering Serah, Hope's words about something he shouldn't have known anything about.

"Honest, you guys, I don't remember saying anything like that. The first thing I remember is Fang saying 'Yeah if we can get there." Hope's voice quivered the reply, "and I said to go on without me. I didn't even know where it was you guys decided to go."

"So, something, or someone, got into your head when you were unconscious" Sazh rationalized, "to tell us a message – one that makes little to no sense."

"OK – you guys are officially creeping me out" Hope shouted, "It's not bad enough to be a l'cie, now I have something haunting me and making me say things I don't remember? Oh, this is just great!"

"Calm down, Hope" Lightning gently said to the kid, "At least we know something wants us to go to Oerba"

"Do you think it's Barthandelus, again?" Hope asked, still shaken by the recent revelation.

"It's possible" Lightning replied.

Vanille walked over to Hope and hugged him, "Don't worry, we're all here for you, OK? We'll get through this together"

Hoped nodded his head and suddenly felt very tired, "I'm going to bed." he announced, "Let me know if I say any other weird things."

He squirmed his way into his sleeping bag, thinking about what the others had told him, then about the juggernauts that had saved him. "Why did those things save me? Better yet, who made them save me?"

A cold chill ran up Hope's spine at that thought, "Barthandelus, it has to be Barthandelus" he muttered to himself, as he slowly drifted off into sleep.


	21. Chapter 21- Taejin's Towers

_You will notice more game twisting in this chapter and subsequent chapters, as we are getting closer to the end of the story. Hope you enjoy it - Please review _

* * *

Everyone was silent for a short time, staring into the fire, thinking of the mysterious words that Hope had spoken a few days ago. "The kid's asleep," Sazh quietly announced "Now let's get to the bottom of this"

"Did anyone besides me, think that the robots saving Hope was weird?" Serah asked, and then quickly added, "I'm certainly glad they did, but usually your enemies don't try to save you."

Lightning stood up and crossed her arms in front of her, "That occurred to me as well, as if something else was controlling them"

"It could have been Barthandelus", Fang rationalized "he doesn't want us dead, he needs us. But, then again, does he need all of us? Why would he bother to save just one?"

"Good question" Sazh added, "Who would care if one of us died?" shrugging his shoulders.

Vanille shuddered at the thought, "This is scaring me" she whimpered, shielding her face into her hands.

"Hey, there now" Sazh said, trying to comfort her, "We're just trying to sort things out, OK?" She nodded her head that she understood, but she hated the thought of anyone dying.

"Etros…. she would care…" Serah slowly uttered, half hypnotized by flickering flames of the fire. Then, looking away from the flames and back to the others, she continued, "The Eidolons are servants of Etros, she allows them to be commanded by a l'cie of their choosing and no one else. Even the fal'Cie have no hold on them. I think the path made for us at the Ark, which led us to the ship, was a gift from Etros to escape Barthandelus."

"Serah, if you're right…." Snow asserted, pondering her words, "then the goddess needs us - she needs us to stop Barthandelus", and then glancing over to Vanille, he added "ALL of us." Snow's words brought a smile to Vanille's face; the thought that Etros was aiding them in their quest was such a reassuring feeling to her.

Lightning started pacing around the camp, trying to make sense out of all it. She decided to lean her back against a tree, a short distance away from the others, to think. Her thoughts went back to Raines, and the words he had spoken at the Ark and on the Lindblum.

"You know," Lightning started saying "Raines had the same strange speech pattern as Barthandelus, using words that didn't make a lot of sense, just like the words that Hope spoke."

"You're right, now that you mention it" Fang agreed, standing and walking towards Light, "It's like an old style of speaking, I'll bet Raines was a lot older than we thought, that's why he looked so weird when he revealed himself."

"It would also mean this has been going on for a long time, long before the War of Transgression started" Serah added, as she snuggled up close to Snow, wrapping her arms around him and leaning her head on his chest. "I wish I knew why it's so important to them to bring the maker back" she continued, "It's like they want the maker to restore something they lost"

"Raines said something" Lightning added to the discussion, "that I didn't get. 'How it ends is not important' - What was that supposed to mean? Was he talking about how it ends for us or how it ends for Cocoon?"

"That's a puzzler," Sazh spoke up "that's for sure. But he did say to 'stay true to ourselves' or something like that. If we do what we believe is the right thing, somehow this is all going to work out."

"Yep, we'll make it through this AND save Cocoon," Snow asserted, positive in his statement, "by doing what we think is right, and not what the fal'Cie wants us to do".

Listening intensely, Vanille felt a growing feeling of hope that somehow, someway, they were going to make this all happen. She had tried so hard to run away from her fate, to forget she was l'cie, slowly she was understanding she needed to face it head on, and accept whatever consequences it would bring her by doing so.

Vanille was trying to stay awake, but could no longer fight the need for sleep. "Good night, everyone" she yawned, "I can't stay awake any longer."

"Good idea, Vanille" Sazh said, stretching and yawning, "Time for some shut-eye."

Everyone was tired, and it wasn't long before they all bedded down for the night, while Lightning prepared herself for the first watch. She patrolled the perimeter of the camp, returning to find Fang still awake, sitting close to fire, listening to popping and crackling sounds it made, and staring into its hypnotic-flickering dance.

"Still awake, huh?" Lightning commented, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, can't sleep" Fang replied, "I keep trying to remember something – anything - from that blank spot in my memory, and it's just plain gone. Vanille told Serah and me what she remembered of it", leaning back onto the palms of her hands, "but not a single thing she said clicked in. It's completely gone from my memory."

"You know, maybe that's not a bad thing…" Lightning tried to offer, "There's only so much a human can deal with you know, before it becomes unbearable. You've been spared that agony."

"Hmm, never thought about it like that." Fang remarked, as she rose to her feet. "Thanks Light, for the insight. I better try to get some sleep before my watch comes up. Good night, missy."

Lightning raised her hand to Fang, to wish her good night, watching her as she settled down for the night. She gazed at everyone sleeping, thinking about how quickly their lives had changed, and if they would ever return to a normal way of life again.

* * *

The air was still crisp from the chill of night as they walked along the pathway to Oerba, the grass was giving way to orange-colored clay and the cliffs blazed an orange-red color in the morning sun. Vanille was skipping ahead of everyone, she was so anxious to see Oerba again; she could barely contain her excitement. They found themselves staring up a large, strange looking tower. It was severely damaged, as the top half had broken off, resembling a snapped twig, leaving it open and exposed to sky above.

"We get through there and we'll be in Oerba!" Vanille exclaimed to others, pointing to the odd looking structure.

"You're almost home." Snow replied to her, smiling at her excitement.

"Yep!" she squealed with delight.

Large dragon-like birds flew around the opening at the top of the tower, and this didn't go un-noticed by Sazh. "This doesn't look like it's going to be a stroll through the park" he commented, as he examined the round building, rubbing the back of his neck.

"A fal'Cie!" Vanille screamed, instinctively throwing hers arms up to cover her face, as large cylindrical creature whizzed over their heads, then up to the opening at the top of the tower. Several glowing orbs were incorporated along its long tail, and its face was covered with a gruesome mask of some sort.

The fal'Cie appeared to be displeased with the giant dragon-like birds flying around the opening, as it struck each one with a flick of its tail, instantly killing them in a blaze of fire and dropping to the ground. The l'cie watched the display, realizing just how right Sazh had been – it wasn't going to easy to get through this dam tower.

Hope became frustrated and frightened at the prospect of entering this spooky looking place, loudly voicing his concerns "So, we're going to walk right into a fal'Cie's lair? Great! And who knows what else is in there. I mean, look at that place…it looks like a haunted house at an amusement park!"

"I don't like this any more than you do, kid." Sazh responded, staring at the tower, "But to get to Oerba, we gotta get through there."

"Vanille" Fang interrupted, "You and Hope go find out what that way stones focus is", pointing to the Cie'th Stone a short distance ahead of them, "We'll take care of that first and worry about the tower later."

When the two returned, Hope was walking briskly in front of Vanille with a scowl on his face. Vanille was giggling so hard, she could barely walk straight. "It's not FUNNY" he retorted to her, without looking back at her.

"What happened?" Serah asked, smiling from Vanille's laughter. "She thinks the focus of the Cie'th Stone is funny" Hope responded, still scowling and visibly irritated. "Well, what is its focus" Serah inquired, as the others were also intrigued to find out.

"What else would be guarding a spook house" Hope sharply retorted "but a big bunch of goblins!" With that, Vanille fell to her knee's, laughing hysterically. Everyone else burst out in laughter and Hope was completely confused by their reaction. "I don't get it," he yelled "it's not funny!"

"It's the irony of it, Hope" Serah sputtered out "and you're making it even funnier. If you hadn't called it a 'haunted house' to start with, the goblins wouldn't be funny at all"

"It's still not funny," he pointed out to them, "It just proves to me that my observation was right to start with, and I don't like it. There's going to be all kinds of weird things in that place"

"OK, kid" Sazh said, patting him on the back, "We get where you're coming from, but that's the way we have to go."

"Come on" Snow added, trying to ease Hopes concerns "Let's go take down those goblins, we've fought them before, and we can do it again!"

"Fine" Hope muttered under his breath, and started following the others as they set off walking towards the tower. He knew they were right, there was no other way to go, but he didn't have to like it.

They encountered a new beast they hadn't fought before. Hope swore it was a specter of some sort, as it was bone white, devoid of any color, and resembled the canine-like creatures from the plains. They took the beast down, but it was much stronger than they expected it to be.

More of the beasts appeared along the way, slowing the progression to the tower, but they finally arrived at their destination, only to be attacked from the sky by one of the giant dragon-like birds that flew around the area.

"This thing must think we're breakfast" Sazh yelled, as the bird made a feeding frenzy move on them. They all used their magic against the flying demon and Serah used her bow, sinking several arrows deeply into the birds flesh. It finally collapsed dead to the ground, much to the pleasure of them all.

"There's the pack of goblins," Hope stated, pointing his finger to the outside corner of the tower where the goblins were waiting, "They're the focus of the way stone." "Our opponents are getting stronger" Fang commented, "We have to assume these goblins are stronger than the ones we have fought before, so be prepared"

Fang was right, the goblins were far more powerful than the previous ones. "Take out the small ones first!" Lightning yelled, as she executed her Blitz move on them. Snow and Fang followed with their Blitz moves, and Hope threw Firga, which hit all goblins with fire. Snow then threw Ruinga, striking several of the goblins and taking some down.

When the battle was over, none of the goblins were left standing. "Yeah!" Snow shouted, throwing his fist in the air "See Hope, I told you we could take em down!" Hope smiled at Snow and responded "Yeah, we did pretty good, didn't we!" "You bet we did, kid!" Snow said, while he ruffled up Hopes hair.

Serah then felt a strange tingling feeling throughout her body and a burning sensation from her brand. "Did everyone feel that?" she asked. "I did" Sazh replied, while everyone one else was nodding their heads. "What was it?" Lightning asked, covering her brand with her hand.

Fang knew what it was, "We've been absorbing the power of the opponents we defeat, that's how we gradually get stronger, we just didn't notice it because it was in small amounts. These goblins carried a large amount of power, and, as we absorbed it, we felt it"

"That's a relief" Hope informed them, "I thought I was getting possessed again!" making them all smile and Vanille giggle.

"Well, let's get going, and see what's waiting for us in that tower." Snow announced, taking Serah's hand and walking ahead of everyone, towards the entrance. "Remember," he started to say, when she interrupted "I know, stay close to you, right?"

"Well, I don't want anything happening to you" he said while touching his index finger to the tip of her nose. Serah smiled at him and said "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Hmmm, it's been at least an hour or so" he coyly said, with a crooked grin on his mouth, then bent down and whispered something in her ear.

Serah blushed and giggled "You are so bad!" she said, shaking her head and still giggling.

"Nah, I'm just in love with the most beautiful woman in the world" he rebutted.

"Oh, Snow" she said, "I do love you, with all my heart."

Snow stopped walking to lean down to kiss her.

"Hey you two!" Fang yelled from behind them, "No love fest till we get to Oerba!"

Snow and Serah laughed, joined hands and ran to entrance of tower, disappearing just inside the door.

Lightning rolled her eyes at Fangs comment, sharply remarking to her, "Really? - till we get to Oerba - there will be none of that in Oerba, either!" Fang sported a huge grin on her face, knowing she had struck a nerve with Light.

"What are you so worried about?" Sazh remarked, "Looks to me that ship sailed a long time ago". Lightning turned towards Sazh and punched him in the arm.

Sazh grabbed his arm in pain, shouting "What the hell girl, that hurt!"

"Good" she retorted "Next time, keep your opinions to yourself."

Hope didn't quite understand what was going on, and wasn't about to ask, after seeing Sazh get punched in the arm. Vanille was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh, also fearing the wrath of Light.

"I'll ask Vanille later" he thought "she'll tell me what that was all about."

They all gathered at the entrance, cautiously venturing inside. The corridor was about one hundred feet long and barely lit with small blue lights on both sides of the walls and the floor. It then opened up to a large open area, circular in shape, with a single-trenched track that ran around the perimeter of the walls. The second story of the building was built on giant wheels that rested in the tracks and the center of the tower was hollow, all the way up to the top floor.

In the center of the area, was another small circular structure, with two perpendicular arches rising up and over a bright blue, iridescent glow that blazed forth from the center, creating an eerie bluish haze to the whole area. Four large stone statues of warriors stood evenly spaced around the structure, as if they were guarding it from intruders. Next to the structure, were two ramps facing each other and leading to nothing but space.

No one spoke, as they walked across the vast area, listening to sounds of their own footsteps echoing back to them from the walls. They could see more of the ghostly colored canine-monsters roaming the structure and were careful to avoid them for now.

They stood in front of one of the stone warriors, when Vanille suddenly asked "I'm I the only one hearing that?"

Sazh replied, "No, I hear, too. It couldn't be them, could it?" pointing to stone statues in front of them.

The others all agreed they heard the strange mumbling noise, and Hope commented "It's weird, it's more like it's inside my head", holding his hands over his ears.

Fang was the only one that could interrupt the mumbling sounds into words, as she repeated what she heard to the others "Go now and leave this place at once – Your presence here draws the tyrants gaze" she repeated.

"We can't leave, we have to get though" Vanille pleaded, "Can you help us?"

Fang paused to listen to the response, then repeated the words she heard "So be it! Look for us and a way will open". To their astonishment, the stone statue started moving, grabbing his stone sword by both hands and plunging it into the ground before him, releasing a sudden flash of blue-misty light.

The wheels started moving in the trench, spinning the floors above them, soon a lighted path on the outside wall lined up and a round shaped elevator descended down, resting in the empty spot between the two ramps.

"Hey, that was easy" Snow calmly said, "Here's our ride."

Hope was skeptical, "But it could be a trap" he cautiously stated.

"Could be" Sazh replied "but I don't see any stairs, do you?"

Fang started walking to elevator, "The old man's right, bumpy or not, this is our ride."

The elevator took them to the second floor, where they were immediately greeted by the fal'Cie. Everyone ducked when the fal'Cie threw a fire ball at them with its long tail, missing them and punching a large opening in the wall. The corridor was blocked by enormous flames, so they quickly rushed through the newly created opening to escape a second attack by the fal'Cie.

Robots were guarding this room, pouncing on the l'cie the moment they entered, "Bring it on!" Snow shouted "We're taking you down!" It wasn't an easy fight, by no means, but they prevailed in the end, absorbing more strength and power from their defeated foes.

"Look" Serah exclaimed "Another stone warrior, but he doesn't have a sword like the others did."

They walked up to warrior and heard the same mumbling sounds as before, but this time a hologram was displayed, telling them of the plight of the warrior. His strength, and that of his brethren, had been stolen and held captive by monsters, defeat the beasts, and the warrior's strength would be restored.

The hologram displayed where the first monster was, and the l'cie didn't hesitate to take on the challenge, defeating the giant gelatinous Flan and restoring the warrior's strength, which turned out to be his sword.

Each room they entered had new enemies to defeat in order to reach the other warriors, the battles were intense and the monsters holding the swords were even tougher to defeat, but the l'cie never gave up, using all of their strength and magic to conquer the monsters, restoring the swords to the other two warriors.

The warriors extinguished the flames in the corridor, created by the fal'Cie, allowing the party to continue their path through this nightmarish tower. As they walked down the corridor, the fal'Cie swooped up from below to engage them again.

"Oh Great!" Hope shouted, and everyone readied their weapons for the ensuing battle.

"Here we go again!" Fang shouted, when suddenly the three stone warriors appeared in a flash of white light, hovering in the space between the l'cie and the fal'Cie. The fal'Cie attempted to engage the warriors, but the warriors were quick to cut off half of the massive tail of the fal'Cie, sending the fal'Cie soaring away and disappearing from site.

"Woo! Well, I'll be damned" Sazh shouted, watching the stone warriors as they turned towards the group.

The mumbling sounds could be heard again, telling Vanille that more of their brethren were trapped there, just as they had been. "Are they sad?" she asked, but the warriors disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

"Guess the way really is open for us now" Lightning commented, proceeding along the corridor to reach the next level.

The floors and corridors were mazes, with a main and secondary elevator, forcing them up one elevator and down another to reach all the levels. They fiercely fought Vampire Cie'th, bats, flying Cie'th, and weird bird-like creatures, just to name a few. The further up the tower they went, the more powerful the monsters became and the l'cie were becoming more powerful with each victory.

Three more warriors were found, and the l'cie restored their strength by defeating the monsters that had stolen their power. They were almost to the top of the tower, when the fal'Cie swooped in again to take them on, "Are you kidding me?!" Fang yelled at the fal'Cie, as it made a dive for them.

Again, the warriors appeared and stood between the fal'Cie and the l'cie, challenging the fal'Cie to battle. And once again, the warriors were able to cut off more of tail of the fal'Cie, leaving only one orb left on a small stub of a tail.

"They saved us again!" Sazh exclaimed, as they watched two of warriors disappear. The third pointed to his brethren, standing at the end of the corridor, and removed the ice barrier so the l'cie could approach him, then disappeared as the others had done.

They approached the warrior and he plunged his sword into the ground, making the floors rotate again, and lining up the pathway for the main elevator to reach the top floor.

Finally the group reached the Apex of the tower. They walked around examining the area as Hope proudly commented, "See, I told you this place was haunted by weird things, but you guys wouldn't listen!"

"Ah, we listened kid," Snow responded, grinning at him "it didn't matter what was here, we had to get through, and we did it"

"Yeah, we did – didn't we!" Hope exclaimed, feeling more confident in their fighting skills.

They started walking on a platform that led to large area in the middle of the floor, it looked like a short cut, rather than traversing the perimeter. Once they reached the middle of the area, it started rising up, lifting the entire group to the level exposed to the sky.


	22. Chapter 22 - Oerba

_Sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter out, but time has prevented me from working on it much. This isn't the last they will see of Oerba (obviously), and will be returning after the next chapter or so, ready to battle Barthangelus. Hope you enjoy the chapter and thank you for reading. Comments and reviews are welcome. I would like to thank everyone that has left a review, I've enjoyed talking with all of you..._

* * *

"Hey!" Sazh shouted, "We made it!"

Little did they know there would be a few more obstacles in their way before they could continue to Oerba. Hopes' spooky old tower was not going to let go of them that easily.

"Uh…. guys…look up there…" Snow stated, pointing off into the sky. Everyone turned to see the fal'Cie swooping down on them once again.

"Watch out, it's acting funny!" Lightning warned everyone, pulling her blade and raising it for action.

"I think it's weak from losing its tail" Fang shouted back, also readying her weapon for the fight.

The fal'Cie tilted its head down and pushed the mask back from its face, revealing the head of a dragon with long bony arms and hands. It stretched out its arms and began pulling energy from the towers structure, turning the monster brilliant colors of yellow and orange as its body absorbed the blue energy, and the last remaining orb on its stubby little tail, blazed a bright white.

"I don't know" Snow observed, "It still looks pretty feisty to me!"

"We can do this!" Hope shouted, determined he was not going to let a fal'Cie frighten him again. Everyone readied their weapons and the battle began for life or death.

Even with their newly gained strength, the wounded fal'Cie was a formable foe to deal with. "Eat this!" Fang yelled, as she dealt the monster the fatal blow that finished its evil life. It died in a most peculiar way – rising up into the sky as it turned black, then dissipating into a cloud of dust.

"That was no fal'Cie" Serah announced, returning her bow to its resting place. "That thing was pure evil and wore a false mask of a fal'Cie."

"Really?" Hope questioned, feeling a little sick to his stomach, "Just what was it?"

"I don't know, for sure" Serah responded to him, "Dragons like that are only supposed to exist in the Void Beyond. How it got here, I have no idea."

The stone warrior appeared to them again, thanking the l'cie for the warriors' freedom and telling them they were off to seek and destroy evil where it could be found, then disappeared in a flash.

"For big pieces of rock, those guys sure do move fast!" Sazh loudly proclaimed, making everyone smile at the comment.

"That must mean there are more of those monsters out there somewhere" Hope reflected to the group, then shuddered at the thought of it.

"Yeah, looks like we're not the only ones trying to save the world" Fang replied, just as an elevator appeared that would take them down the broken top of the tower and into Oerba.

"Hey, guys!" Snow yelled, "There's Cie'th Stone over here, and another stone warrior!"

Lightning walked up to the stone warrior, and he plunged his sword into the ground, this time bringing up another elevator to rest between the empty ramps that stood next to him. She decided to investigate this new elevator, and walked inside to discover it went to the seventh floor, a place they had not yet visited.

Snow touched the Cie'th Stone, and it revealed its focus to him, it was to defeat another of the Undying Cie'th, which hid on the ground floor.

"Oh, boy" Snow said, looking at Serah, "this just gets better and better, doesn't it?"

Serah looked up at Snow, "Yeah, it's like this tower doesn't want to let go of us or something."

The group decided to go to the seventh floor first, to see what they may have missed, and then would take on the Undying Cie'th hiding on the ground floor. Upon arriving on the seventh floor, they were engaged by more of the giant dancing birds, which were slightly easier to defeat this time, as the l'cie's strength had grown significantly since the last time they encountered these creatures.

A final stone warrior was there, and upon walking up to him, he plunged his sword into the floor, causing the floors to rotate for the last time. The floors came to a stop, lining up the main elevators' shaft from the Apex all the way down to the ground level.

"The elevators play musical notes as they move" Serah observed "that's how we'll lure the Cie'th out of hiding."

From the Apex of the tower, they rode the main elevator down to the ground level, playing the musical notes that reverberated throughout the tower. Upon reaching the ground level and departing the elevator, the group of l'cie started searching for the Undying Cie'th. They had only walked a short distance when, out from above, the flying Cie'th swooped down on them to engage them in battle.

This one was incredibly powerful, immune to most magic and physical attacks. Its attacks were devastating and not easily defended against. Snow and Fang used their defensive skills to draw the attacks away from the rest of the party, Sazh and Hope cast magic on the party to buff-up their defenses, while Lightning, Serah, and Vanille were casting healing and offensive magic.

"Fang!" Lightning yelled "Hopes been hit hard, he's down!"

"I'm on it" she yelled back, pulling out a Phoenix Down potion and sprinkling it over Hope.

The potion restored Hopes strength and he scrambled back to his feet, "Thanks!" he shouted, as he returned to the battle, casting his offensive magic to stagger the Cie'th. Once they staggered the monster, its defenses were weakened and Snow, Lightning and Fang attacked it relentlessly. The others cast their offensive magic and soon the Cie'th was defeated.

They watched as the rainbow-colored energy left its body, speeding towards the sky and disappearing, just as the other Undying Cie'th had done.

"I've got a really bad feeling we're going to find out where that light is going" Sazh remarked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yep" Snow agreed "I think you're right."

"Let's get going to Oerba" Lightning said, in a commanding tone of voice, "I've had enough of this place."

Vanille was more than ready to conform to that suggestion "Yeah!, Let's get going!" she excitingly exclaimed.

"So, what's Oerba like?" Snow asked, wondering what to expect once they arrived there.

"It's small," Vanille answered as they boarded the elevator to go back to the Apex, "but it's warm and real naturery"

"Yeah" Fang added "you could see the flowers that grew by the fal'Cie for as far as you could see."

When they reached the Apex, Vanille ran for the elevator that would take them to Oerba. Fang tried to act nonchalant about going home, but inside she was as anxious as Vanille to see Oerba again.

Once they all reached the elevator, Sazh remarked "This looks to be the easiest way down", as he didn't like the prospect of climbing down the broken tower top.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to throw your back out climbing down, old man!" Snow joked, slapping him on the back.

"Humph!" Sazh retorted back, "You're a real smart ass, aren't you?!"

Everyone laughed, Snow wore a mischievous grin on his face knowing he had gotten under Sazh's skin. They all boarded the elevator and down the tower top it went, rolling out of the top, and almost into Oerba.

The l'cie disembarked from the elevator to find the surrounding countryside in a state of ruin.

Vanille gasped, "It's gone, it's all gone!" holding back her tears.

"Every bit of color is gone…" Fang flatly commented, disbelieving what she was seeing.

Serah bent down and ran her hands through what appeared to be white sand, to discover it was small bits of crystal, worn and weathered with the passage of time.

"This is crystal" Serah informed the others, "Maybe this is what Hope meant by 'the fal'Cie lie sleeping'. They were destroyed and turned to crystal, then, over time, the crystal crumbled into sand. Lake Bresha will probably look like this someday."

"It's not far now" Hope said, trying to brighten Vanille's spirits, "You're almost home".

Hope gently took Vanille's hand, patting it with his other hand, "Everything's going to work out, you'll see." Vanille smiled at him, while thinking what a kind gesture he was making towards her.

"Ok, let's go see what's waiting for us in Oerba" Fang finally said, recovering from the devastation in front of her.

Along the trail were more Vampire Cie'th and bats to battle, before finally standing at the bridge that would lead them into the village. They could see the streets were crowded with Cie'th, aimlessly wandering, and a Cie'th Stone was standing at the far corner.

"We'll just have to fight our way through them" Snow remarked, punching his fists together in front of him, "We need to get to that Cie'th Stone."

Serah looked over at Fang and Vanille, "The Cie'th, they used to be your people, weren't they?" she said sympathetically, "We'll understand if you don't want to fight them."

"They may have been our people at one time" Fang responded "but once they turned Cie'th, they're only monsters looking for blood. The best thing we can do to is to put them out of their misery"

"We'll fight" Vanille collaborated, "They're not people anymore."

"Let's break up into two groups" Lightning suggested "We should be able to take them down quicker. If one group has trouble, the other group can provide backup."

They all agreed, and the plan worked well. They cleared the main street into Oerba in no time and were standing in front of the way stone, gathering the information of its focus.

"Jumping lizard-frog things again" Sazh said, lowering his head and shaking it back and forth, "Dam things reproduce faster than you can kill them."

Fang started laughing, then remarked "You just have to kill the ones that summon first, old man, then go after the rest of them."

"Oh, yeah….I forgot JUST how easy that is to do!" Sazh retorted back, "While the rest of them are kicking our butts!"

The other members of the group were snickering at Sazh's apprehension for these creatures, as he never liked engaging them in a fight.

"Come on!" Fang commanded, "Let's get this over with", taking point to lead them through the streets of her home.

They encountered more Cie'th along the way, but had no problem defeating them. They paused on the stairs that lead down to the waterfront, Fang and Vanille both remembered how beautiful it had been at one time. The perfectly blue water was now grey, lapping at the bottom of the stairs which had led to a beautiful beach, now completely swallowed up by the water.

The focus of the way stone wasn't far from the waterfront and it wasn't long before they engaged the beastly things. The opponent was strong, but the l'cie were stronger, defeating the pack of them and finishing the focus of the way stone.

"Oh…. how creepy are those things?!" Serah exclaimed, pointing to the Cie'th just ahead of them, blocking the stairs back into the town. The Cie'th were in the form of a huge hand, propelling themselves by stretching their fingers along the ground and pulling the rest of their 'bodies' along.

Serah was horrified at the sight of these monsters and felt so much sorrow for them. "What a horrible and grotesque thing to be turned into…" she sadly proclaimed, turning towards Snow and burying her head in his chest.

Snow comforted her in his arms, "Don't worry, baby. They won't suffer any longer… we'll make sure of that. OK?" He could feel her nodding her head in agreement against his chest, and she turned back to face the fight against these hideous creatures.

"That's my girl!" Snow softly said to her, stoking her arm with the back of his gloved hand, "We'll take care of them and they'll finally be in peace".

They all rushed towards the stairway, slaying the monsters that were blocking the entrance, following Fang up the stairs into the main part of the village. The entire village was in remarkably good condition, considering how long it had been deserted.

Memories flooded back for Fang and Vanille as they wandered through the deserted shops and businesses. Some trinket shops still had merchandise on display, though weathered and dusty, and old advertisements hung on the walls, curled up at the ends and yellowed with age.

"It seems like we were just here" Vanille sadly whimpered to Fang "looking for special beads to buy."

Fang put her arm around Vanille to comfort her, "I know. This was one of your favorite shops…. We used to come here a couple times a week. But that was a different time, we have to let go of those memories and make new ones."

Vanille understood. They had to look forward to the future, not back into the past, and adjust to this new world to survive in it.

When they came across the housing units, Hope asked Vanille which one was hers.

Her reply surprised him when she said "Which one? Well…. all of them. We all lived and worked together."

Sazh's first thought shot from his mouth "Just one big, happy family, huh?"

"Yep," Fang responded with a hint of melancholy in her voice "Nobody went hungry and nobody was left to struggle on their own. Everyone looked after each other."

Fang then became exasperated, shaking her head back and forth, "Ahhh, this is hopeless, we're never going to find a way to get rid of these brands!" she shouted to the others.

"Hey, now….that's not the only reason we're here," Sazh began to explain to her "You're home now, that's just as important, so enjoy it while you can."

"Yeah! Sazh is right," Vanille encouraged Fang, "Let's keep going, come on!"

They toured the living quarters of the various complexes; every room looked as if it was waiting for their occupants to arrive home at any time. In one unit they entered, a small robotic dog was standing in the center of room.

"Bhakti!" Vanille shouted, running towards it and bending down to pat its head. "I was so worried" she told the mechanical dog.

The dog let out a few beeps and whistle's, then collapsed onto the floor.

"Oh no" Vanille whimpered, covering her face with her hands.

"Looks like he waited for you." Fang offered, trying to console her friend.

Sazh knelt down to examine the robot, announcing he could fix it. "There's still lots of life in this little guy, he just needs a few new parts" he explained to Vanille, bringing a big smile from the broken-hearted girl.

Sazh told the others what he needed and they immediately set out on their quest to find the parts he requested. The search took them all over the village, returning shortly with everything Sazh needed to repair Vanille's little pet. He immediately went to work, and soon the little guy started beeping and whistling again.

"Oh Bhakti!" Vanille shouted, "You're back again!" hugging the mechanical little beast while it made all kinds of strange noises.

Bhakti then displayed on its tiny screen, 'You're a true Pulsian!', when a chip of some sort flew out of him and landed on the floor.

Vanille gasped "He's losing his parts, Sazh!"

Sazh picked up the chip and examined it carefully, "No" he responded, "This thing doesn't belong to him", as he fiddled with the buttons that were on it.

Suddenly, the chip displayed a hologram of Gran Pulse with all the locations of the Cie'th Stones. The ones that still had a focus to complete were flashing and the ones that were completed were solid.

"Look" Hope said, pointing to the hologram, "there's a town over here we haven't been to yet and look at all the Cie'th Stones left to accomplish."

Lightning was examining the hologram carefully and noticed some strange markings, then looked for a legend to find out what they meant. "Points of interest, huh? I'll bet they are," she sarcastically stated, as the others turned to look at her.

"Well, Oerba was supposed to be the end of the road" Snow began saying, placing his hands on top of his head, "but it looks like it's just the beginning."

Bhakti started beeping and making shrill-squeaking noises again, displaying another message on his screen 'Overcome Titan's Trials at the Faultwarrens'.

"That doesn't sound like fun." Sazh commented, rubbing the back of his neck and turning to look at the others, "Looks like trench coat was right, this isn't the end of the trail for us."

Bhakti spit out another chip onto the floor, then displayed the message 'When the time is right, secrets will be revealed'. Vanille picked up the chip, but no matter how they fiddled with it, it refused to display any information.

"Uh, I guess that's what the message meant" Vanille said "the chip will only tell us something at the right time."

Hope slowly walked over to the round dining table and sat down, staring out of the open window and over what remained of Oerba. Serah nudged Snow in the ribs with her elbow and nodded her head towards Hope.

"Yeah, I gotcha" he said quietly, as he nonchalantly walked over to Hope to find out what was wrong.

"Hey, little buddy" Snow began, as he sat down and put his hand on Hopes shoulder, "something bothering you?"

"Oh, well…" Hope muttered "Guess I was hoping we'd be going home soon. I miss my Dad….Just disappointed, I guess. It's never going to be the same, is it? I mean, the way things were on Cocoon, everything will be different."

"We're all a little bummed that Oerba wasn't the end" Snow counseled the boy, "but we're getting there, and yeah, things will definitely be different on Cocoon, but that doesn't mean it will be bad. We just have to adjust, just like Fang and Vanille are doing right now. You'll see…. everything will work itself out."

Hope lowered this head, "Yeah, suppose you're right" he said in agreement, "We just gotta get through this first."

Sazh arrived at the table, sitting down next to Hope, and joined into the conversation. Fang and Vanille were examining some of their old possessions they had found at the dressing table, so Serah took the opportunity to talk to her sister.

Lightning was leaning against the wall, arms folded and staring at the wooden floor, when Serah's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Serah questioned, dipping her head down to bring herself into her sister's view.

Lightning smiled, "Nothing much, just random thoughts"

Serah giggled "I get like that, too. Just stare off into space and let my thoughts go."

"Vanille, watch out!" Fang yelled, grabbing Vanille and pulling her quickly away from the wall that she was standing close to.

The warning startled everyone, causing them to go for their weapons. Serah saw the green lizard-like creature that was creeping down the wall, and immediately pulled a knife from her boot and threw it at the critter, piercing its body and pinning it to the wall. The green ooze from the body of the thing ran down the wall and out onto the floor.

"Great shot, baby!" Snow said, giving his fiancée a thumbs-up from across the room.

Serah was smiling from Snow's approval, but quickly realized that everyone was staring at her.

"Uh, I uh…." she stuttered "kinda know how to throw knives."

Fang started laughing, "Little one, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" then continued "That nasty little critter is poisonous and can make you mighty sick if it bites you. We sure don't need that right now."

"Serah, when did you learn to do that?" Lightning questioned, raising an eyebrow to her sister.

Serah hung her head down, "I taught myself to kill spiders this way, Light…It made the nightmares go away. I should have told you, but I was so afraid you would make me stop doing it and the nightmares would come back."

Lightning put her arm around Serah, "When this is all over, we're going to sit down and have a long sisterly talk….and get to know each other as sisters should. Will that be alright with you?"

"Oh Light" Serah exclaimed, lifting her head to look at sister, "That would make me so happy, I have so much I'd like to share with you."

"Hey, Snow" Sazh quietly said to him, "You'd better be good to that one, if Serah doesn't make a pin cushion out of you, Lightning will make a kabob out of yah!"

Hope overhead the comment and started laughing at Snow.

"Hey, little man" Snow said with a big grin on his face, "You're time is coming…you know what they say 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn."

The three of them busted up laughing; the women just stared at them, wondering what the heck was so funny.

"I know you guys are having a great time, but we need to find something to eat….or I'm I the only one that's hungry?" Fang interrupted the laughter, which she was sure had something to do with them, "There are still too many Cie'th left in town, so I suggest we all stick together and go out to find something to eat."

"We can spend the night here," Lightning added "It'll give us a chance to look at that map and figure out where we're going from here. Sazh, do you think you can get power in here from the wind generators outside?"

"I'm sure I can rig something up" Sazh responded, still chuckling from the thought of what would happen to Snow if he made Serah mad enough.

"Ok, then. Let's do that first, "Lightning suggested "we'll stand guard while you work on the power. Then we'll find something to eat and bring it back here. After we eat, we can figure out our next move and get an early start in the morning."

"Sounds like a plan" Fang responded "let's get a move on."

"Uh, Fang...There's something I don't understand" Hope started to ask, while he was scratching his head, "Why is Snow so much stronger than the rest of us? I mean, we all seem to absorb the same amount of energy, shouldn't we all be the same strength?"

"It doesn't quite work that way, kid." Fang responded, as the others listened, also interested in the answer. "The energy boosts whatever strengths we possess. Like in your case, you have stronger magical abilities than strength, so the energy works in unison with your magic to make you stronger that way. Snow was already strong to start with, so the energy is working to make him even stronger, with less emphasis on magic. Otherwise, we wouldn't be diverse in our abilities and would make us much easier to defeat."

"Oh, Ok. That makes sense" Hope said, "I just couldn't figure it out. Thanks Fang!"

"No problem, kid. Now let's get going before we start losing daylight. I don't want to eat bats for dinner" Fang replied, making Hope cringe at the thought of eating bats.

Even Serah let out an "Ewww, ick" at that remark.


	23. Chapter 23 - Oerba and Watermelon

_Very short chapter, but I wanted to get this last piece of Oerba completed before they left the village. In case anyone was wondering, the monsters don't regenerate themselves in the story like the game does, since there is no need for grinding. Once they destroy an enemy, it's gone._

_Thank You to everyone that has read the story thus far and, of course, to all of you that have left reviews, followed, and favored it. It's an inspiring feeling and I just can't thank everyone enough._

* * *

Sazh was true to his word and was able to establish power to the housing unit in which they were occupying at the moment. Everyone relished the thought of being able to sleep indoors for once. The Cie'th were reluctant, or unable, to traverse the stairways, so they would be relatively safe during the night from attack from the beasts.

Their quest for dinner was successful, upon discovering an abundance of rabbits that had taken up residency in what was a park, roaming the deserted little village at will. The abandoned park was the only place in Oerba where grass still grew, making it the perfect haven for the long-eared rodents. Fang had no trouble hunting down enough of the critters to make a good dinner for them all.

By chance, they ran across a long forgotten garden that was still producing vegetables behind one of the shops. Fang and Vanille remembered the people that owned the establishment, an older couple that always had extra food for anyone that needed it.

There were some old mesh-type baskets lying about the shop, so they used them to fill up with as much of the vegetables as they needed. Some potatoes, tomatoes and even some carrots were harvested and, best of all, were the strawberries.

The strawberries plants had taken root anywhere they could establish themselves, spreading all over the garden. The berries were ripened to perfection and everyone was busy picking, unfortunately most of the fruit was being consumed before it reached the containers, as everyone was hungry. The last meal they had eaten was at breakfast that day, and that was the leftovers of dinner and the eggs Vanille had collected.

"Fang, look!" Vanille shouted excitingly, pointing to the ground where she stood, "It's a watermelon! Do you think it's still edible?"

"Let me see" Fang replied, strolling over and knelling down, thumping the melon with her knuckles. "Sounds like it. We'll take it with us and find out for sure when we cut it open"

"What's a watermelon?" Hope asked, praying it wasn't going to be a question he would regret later, especially after the 'eating bats for dinner' remark Fang had made earlier.

"Good question, Hope" Lightning commented, "Just WHAT IS a watermelon?" she questioned, giving the two Pulsian women a dubious look.

"You've never eaten watermelon?" Vanille was flabbergasted at the thought that these people had never eaten this delicious tasting fruit. "You're in for treat, if this one is still good to eat!" she delightedly squealed to them, "they're sweet and juicy, and there's nothing that comes close to their flavor!"

"On Cocoon, the fal'Cie produce most of the food we eat" Sazh revealed to the Pulsian's "All this new food has been a treat for me!"

Serah went on to tell the women about NORA, and how they grew their own vegetables and sold what they didn't use. Suddenly, a memory popped into Hope's head, his mother had taken him to a small plot of land in Bodhum and bought vegetables there.

This must be the same place Serah was talking about, he theorized, as sadness washed over him at the memory of his mother…..happily carrying the vegetables, explaining to him what a wonderful treat these would be with dinner.

"Hope?" Lightning asked, jerking him out of his daydream, "Are you OK?"

"Uh…yah….I'm fine" he replied, nervously "I think my Mom bought some vegetables at the place Serah was talking about, that's all."

Vanille walked over and put her arms around him, "It'll be alright" she said to comfort him, while she patted him on the back. He hugged her back tightly, winking at Snow while he thanked Vanille for her kindness.

Snow grinned at the secret the two shared, "Kid's going to be OK" he thought to himself, "It'll be hard for him at times, but he's going to be OK."

Snow was elected to pack the watermelon and was severely warned not to drop it, while all the others had baskets of vegetables and strawberries to carry. Fang toted the rabbits, as she was very proud of her hunting abilities and these were her trophies attributing to those very skills. She knew she would never go hungry as long as there was something in the area to hunt.

Carefully, they proceeded back to the housing unit, being very cautious to avoid any Cie'th or anything else they would have to fight. Upon arrival, the guys found some planks to nail over the open window to keep out any flying intruders during the night. They were all determined to get at least one good night's rest before starting their journey in the morning.

Serah started preparing the meat by placing it in a marinade sauce she had mixed up. Ordinarily, she would have marinated it overnight, but an hour or so was going to have to be sufficient. She also washed all the vegetables and the fruit, Snow had to help her with this big 'watermelon thing', since it was more than she could handle.

"Serah, lend me your dagger and we'll slice this melon open" Fang instructed, as Snow placed the huge piece of fruit on the table, being very careful not to allow it to roll and smash to the floor. He didn't want to pay the consequences for that mistake.

Fang carefully carved down the middle, until it fell into two halves, cutting off one inch slices from the half, and quartered the slices. She picked up one of the quarters and gingerly took a bite. Vanille had her hands clasped together under her chin, in anticipation of the taste test, hoping it was still good.

Fang rolled her eyes in delight, "Mmmm!" she exclaimed, "It's just as I remember it!" No one had to tell Vanille to taste it, she was already sampling a piece of the watermelon that she loved, and missed, so much.

"What about the seeds?" Hope asked "Are you supposed to pick them out before you eat it?"

"Whatever suits yah, kid" Fang responded, with a cock-eyed grin on her face. "Some people eat them, some people pick them out, and some people spit them out. Some people even sprinkle salt on it before eating it. It's all up to you!"

They all took a piece to taste and the room soon filled with sighs of pleasure as everyone loved the taste of this new, exotic fruit. Serah sat in Snow's lap at the dining table and started hand feeding him chunks of the watermelon. She giggled and laughed at his display of pleasure, which he was purposely overdoing, infecting the others with laughter at the sight of the two.

Lightning rolled her eyes, starting to turn away from the sight, when suddenly a battle began in her head with herself…. _Why are you turning away? _Because this is nonsense. _Is it?...You're turning away, shutting everyone out again… _But, this behavior… it's impractical, especially now. _Look how happy everyone one is, even if it's just for a few minutes, is that so wrong? _

She turned back to watch the antics of the two, taking another piece of the fruit, and started to smile at the happiness surrounding her. It felt good, it was just a small thing, but she didn't shut them out this time and became part of festivities for the moment.

When the laughter died down, and the watermelon was gone, Fang suggested they go Cie'th hunting for what remained of the daylight. "We have a couple hours left before nightfall and the more Cie'th we can clear out, the better" she told them, in a matter-of-fact way.

It was agreed to, so off they went to clear the village of more Cie'th. Serah wanted to explore a school house they had discovered when looking for parts for Bhakti, so that was the direction they headed, taking down every Cie'th in their path.

When Vanille and Fang entered the school, visions of their childhood rushed before them. They both had attended classes here, and could hear the classroom noises of long ago echoing through their thoughts. Nothing looked different except for the neglect and weathering of the structure and its contents. Serah opened book after book, but the pages quickly turned to dust as the air touched the fragile paper, rendering them unreadable.

"Darn it!" Serah shouted to the others, "I was hoping we might learn something from the books, but they're all just too old and fragile."

"Don't fret too much little one" Fang sarcastically responded, "As I remember, there wasn't much in these books that was very interesting, just a lot of homework."

They all walked around the classroom, examining everything there. Fang and Vanille were in a half-dazed state, remembering various events, and voices from the past. Finally, they decided to move on to other parts of the village, to clear out more of the Cie'th wandering in the streets and pathways.

"We should start to head back" Lightning suggested "We're starting to lose daylight."

"Yeah" Sazh agreed "and I'm getting hungry. That watermelon was good, but it sure doesn't stay with yah long."

Making their way back to their temporary abode, they ate dinner and started plotting out their trek for the next morning. Lightning, Fang and Snow studied the holographic map, making mental notes of the terrain and the locations of the stones that were flashing.

Sazh suddenly jumped up from the table, causing his chair to hit the floor with a loud bang, yelling "What the hell!" Digging quickly into his pants pocket, he pulled out the other chip, tossing it on to the table. It danced all over the table, as it violently vibrated and hummed. When it stopped, it displayed a holographic message:

_The color of the stones are a clue_,

_A conquest is easier in blue,_

_When the color is seen to be green,_

_Your strength cannot be too lean,_

_A fellow that sees yellow,_

_Should not be content to be mellow,_

_When purple is the color that's seen,_

_The foes will be incredibly mean,_

_A conquest in red,_

_Reveals a pathway ahead,_

_Winning a battle in white,_

_Will transport you with the light._

"The chip!" Vanille squealed excitedly "It's revealing secrets of the Cie'th Stones!"

"Yea… complete with bad poetry." Sazh remarked, still upset from the vibration the chip had created, rubbing an area on his leg. "Somebody else carry that thing!" he went on to say "Don't want that happening to me every time the damn thing wants to talk!"

"Oh, come on old man" Fang started teasing, as a wicked grin appeared on her face, "We all know you enjoyed it, just admit it!"

Everyone started snickering at Fangs suggestive remark, even Hope caught on to the joke, and Lightning had to lower her head into her hand to hide her amusement.

Sazh just shook his head at them all, "Like I said, somebody else take that thing, I'm done with it!" He turned and walked over to his sleeping bag stretched out on the floor, "I'm going to catch me some sleep, I'll see all you 'kids' in the morning"

"Probably not a bad idea" Snow stated, "We could all use a good night's sleep" and the others agreed, as everyone headed for their respective beds, carefully lain out on the floor.

They felt safe enough that no one needed to stand watch, and for once everyone was going get a good, uninterrupted night's sleep.

In the darkness, Lightning could hear soft whispers, some of which she recognized as Serah's, then the muted sounds of giggling. "Good Grief!" she thought, "Am I going have to stand guard over those two all night? Hmmm…..I know how to deal with this."

Lightning grabbed up her sleeping gear and cautiously made her way through the darkened room until she reached the area where Snow and Serah were sleeping in. She proceeded to lay out her sleeping gear right next to Serah and, without saying a word, settled down for a good night's sleep.

"Uh….Light….are you OK?" Serah whispered to her sister, surprised at her actions, as she never wanted to be that close to anyone when she slept.

"I'm fine" Lightning responded in a self-gratifying tone, "I just want to make sure you're safe, Serah."

"Scared of the dark, Sis?" Snow whispered teasingly, knowing full well what she was doing.

"YOU will be" Lightning returned in response, closing her eyes and listening to the two of them whispering their good-nights to each other. A grin of satisfaction came across her face in the darkness, as she drifted off into a deep, long needed sleep.


	24. Chapter 24 - Quest for Faultwarren

_This chapter will see our l'cie leaving Oerba to seek the new area they discovered and to finish off more of the Cie'th Stones. I will not be going into much detail about the mission marks, there are just too many of them. I will be concentrating more and more on my own content, tying it into specific game events. Hope everyone will like it. As always, thanks for reading and drop me a line, I'm always interested in hearing from everyone._

* * *

To reach the new town they discovered on the map, they would use the way stones and the Chocobos to travel, completing the focuses of the remaining Cie'th Stones on the way. Hope knew this meant going back into those dreaded tunnels, and the thought of it almost paralyzed him with fear.

Daybreak cast over the village, and the l'cie were standing in front of the way stone that would transport them to their first destination. Oerba looked different at dawn, the light twinkled and danced off the buildings, even the water sparkled as the soft rays of the new light gracefully kissed its surface. The absence of Cie'th roaming the streets made the village seem calm and almost inviting once again.

Vanille and Fang turned to gaze upon the little village once more before they departed. Vanille softly said 'good-bye', telling Bhakti to also say good-bye to the village. Little beeps and whistles could be heard from the small pack that Sazh had rigged up for Vanille to carry Bhakti, bringing a smile to everyone's face.

"So, are we ready?" Snow inquired, patiently waiting with his hands clasped behind is head. Fang and Vanille turned back to face the group and nodded in agreement that they were ready to leave.

Snow touched the way stone and it displayed a hologram of the destinations available to them, "Here we go!" Snow whimsically said, as he touched the Yaschas Massif destination.

In a matter of seconds, they were transported back to the area they had started in. The experience was as thrilling as the first time they had done this, and Serah just had to comment on it.

"That is so much fun!" she exclaimed, "Wouldn't it be wonderful if Cocoon had way stones? We could travel back and forth as fast as the wind!"

Hope found this idea intriguing, taking the idea a step further in his mind, "What if it wasn't way stones, but a machine that could do the same thing" he thought, "They found a way duplicate some of the magic, what if someone could figure out how to duplicate this?"

"Hooopppeee….." Vanille chanted, "We're leeeaavvvving, are you coming?" as she dipped her head down to bring her face into his view.

"Uh….yah….sorry" he muttered in response, as his thoughts were interrupted by the red-headed pixie. Vanille giggled at him and grabbed his hand to pull him along to catch up to the others.

Using the map chip, they started locating the active Cie'th Stones and finishing their respective focuses. Each conquest made them grow stronger and the vibrating chip, which Snow now carried in his inside coat pocket, instructed them on the use of a magical technic to gain knowledge of their enemies weaknesses and strengths.

The Cie'th Stones focus-targets were growing further and further away from the stones themselves, and the group found themselves traversing vast areas to complete the stones quests. The Chocobos were a great aid to quickly cross the vast expanse, and everyone loved riding them. It was one of the small pleasures this ordeal offered to them and they enjoyed it immensely. There wasn't always enough Chocobos for each person to ride, so they would double up when needed. Serah always doubled with Snow, sitting in front of him while he guided the bird across the plain at high-speed.

One of the focus-targets was located in the northern part of the plains somewhere, a nasty dragon-like bird that kept moving, forcing the l'cie from the Chocobos to search for this elusive creature on foot. The map always displayed the mission marks, but even the map couldn't precisely place where this thing was hiding.

As they searched, no one was paying close attention to the area they were wandering into. The air was becoming humid and small patches of foggy mist would drift over them occasionally. The temperature was gradually cooling down and it wasn't until Serah grabbed her arms and shivered, did the others notice the change.

"I think we've wandered too far to the North" Fang commented, "The map shows a spot that's covered in clouds and I think we're close to it" She had no more spoken the words, when a thick fog started to engulf them. The fog was so thick they could no longer see one another and it distorted the sounds of their voices as they tried calling to each other.

Lightning was the furthest away from them all, coming to a stop when she could no longer see around her. Serah panicked, she was also separated from everyone, trying to listen to the voices to decide where to go, but fog made the sounds echo in a most un-nerving way.

Dread then rushed over them all, as the unmistakable roars of a Behemoth could be heard. "Serah!" Snow yelled "Don't move, I'll find you somehow!" as he turned towards a figure he could barely see behind him. "Fang, get the others out of here!" he yelled "I'll get Serah and Lightning and meet up with yah later."

As a group, they could take down a Behemoth with no problem, but alone in this thick fog; it would be a disastrous encounter for Light and Serah. Snow went forward, telling Serah to keep yelling so he would have something to follow; Lightning was also trying to follow the sound of Serah's voice to re-unite with the group.

A shadowy figure was now in Snow's sight, he was sure it was Serah, when more roars of a Behemoth penetrated the fog. These were louder than the ones heard before and Snow knew the creature had to be close.

Before he could take another step, the giant beast pounced out of nowhere in front of him, cutting him off from the figure he was trying so desperately to get to. Anger and frustration ran hotly through his veins as he put up his fists to fight the monster in front of him.

"You want to take me!" he yelled "Bring it on!"

He didn't know there were more Behemoth's in the area until he heard the roars of another one a short distance away, then more that were of a fainter sound. He then realized the three of them were surrounded by these massive beasts.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed to himself, as he rushed in and started his attack on the Behemoth.

Snow was the only one strong enough to defeat one of these monsters alone and he was concerned for the safety of Serah and Lightning as he battled his foe.

Serah and Lightning were both cornered by Behemoth's, Serah quickly pulled her bow, but she knew this wouldn't be enough to destroy the threat facing her. These creatures could regenerate themselves, and no amount of arrows would bring one down before it regenerated.

An idea quickly came to her, "If I can't kill it maybe I can blind it" she thought, "It would give me a chance to escape."

She focused on the bright red-eye of the Behemoth, pulling back the arrow and releasing it just as the monster leapt towards her. The arrow struck exactly where she wanted, whirling the beast to the ground as it wailed in pain at the loss of one of its eyes.

It regained its composure quickly, rushing towards her again, but she was ready with her second shot. She hit the second red-eye spot on, and the beast wailed loudly as it stumbled around aimlessly, unable to locate its victim.

Serah was concerned for Lightning, straining her eyes to see through the fog, hoping to catch sight of her. A short distance from her, the fog turned a brilliant crimson red and she heard Lightning shout "Cut us a Path!"

"Of course!" Serah thought "The Eidolons! Lightning has called on Odin for help"

Serah followed Lightning's example and threw her green crystal in the air, smashing it with her dagger as it came down. The fog surrounding her turned a bright emerald-green and Orion was standing before her, waiting to assist his l'cie.

"Time to End This!" Serah shouted, and Orion transformed into the Falcon, as she hopped on his back, wielding the giant double-edged sword of Orion. She was amazed that she was able to wield this blade with such ease; it felt as if this weapon was part of her.

"Take me to Snow" she shouted to Orion and, with no hesitation, the falcon quickly flew her to where Snow was fighting off his second Behemoth. Serah threw him her bow "Shoot at its eyes and blind it" she yelled, "It will be easier to take down! I'll be back when we finish off the other one coming towards you."

Orion was a great mythological hunter, his hunting skills were unsurpassed. He flew Serah precisely to the area where Behemoths are the weakest, the base of the ears. She plunged the sword into the monster and it wailed loudly as Orion flew around to the other side of the beast. Once more she slashed the creature and it let out a bloodcurdling scream, falling dead to ground.

Orion flew her back to the blind monster that threatened her to start with, and she proceeded to finish it off in the same fashion as the other. Its wails and screams were disturbing to Serah, but she knew she had no choice if they were to survive this encounter.

Her Eidolon flew her back to Snow, allowing her to dismount before transforming back to his original form of a mighty hunter.

"Thanks for the help!" she said, tossing the sword back to him, then raising her arm to wave good-bye.

He graciously bowed to her, hesitating slightly before dissipating into a bright green mist that mingled with the fog, completely disappearing. Emerald green feathers floated down, landing on the ground surrounding Serah.

Snow had taken down his second Behemoth and handed back Serah's bow to her. "Glad you taught me to shoot", he told her, as he pulled her close to him, "Came in pretty handy. Are you alright?"

Serah smiled warmly at him, and slipped her arms around his waist. "I'm fine now" she replied, "I can't believe you took down two of those dreadful things all by yourself."

"Oh my!" Serah exclaimed, "Look at your brand, Snow!" It was blazing a bright blue, sparkling like the Cie'th Stones did when their focuses were completed.

Snow laughed, "Uh…the girls must be excited to see Orion!"

Snow's comment made Serah giggle as she examined her own brand, "Mine's doing the same thing!" she observed, and the two laughed together as they watched their brands return to their normal state.

It wasn't long before Odin landed in front of them, in the form of a stallion with Lightning as his mount. She dismounted and he transformed back to a shimmering knight as Lightning tossed back his blade.

"Till the next time" she said, and he nodded his head towards her as he captured the blade. The Eidolon hesitated before dissipating into a crimson light, swirling upwards and leaving rose pedals at Lightning's feet.

"Oh, Oh!" Snow chuckled, as he displayed his brand to the two women, "There they go again." His brand reacted to Odin in the same way as Orion. Lightning gasped, as she looked down at her brand to find nothing had changed, covering it with her hand, as if she were shielding it from Snow's Eidolons.

"Snow's twin sisters seem to like our Eidolons, Light" Serah commented with a big grin on her face, "They did the same thing when Orion brought me back. It appears Fang wasn't kidding with her story after all."

"Let's get out of here" Lightning retorted, "before more of those things show up", trying to ignore Serah's comment and the smirky grin plastered on Snow's face.

Snow was enjoying himself immensely with Lightning's obvious agitation over the Eidolons, deciding to stay quiet for the moment, until he got them all to safety. He couldn't wait to tell Fang and the others of the event, "This'll be epic," he thought, "and I can just sit back and watch."

The fog was starting to thin out somewhat, as they cautiously made their way back to the others. Snow was in the lead, holding Serah's hand tightly as she followed behind him. There was no way Snow was going to lose her again in this fog. Lightning brought up the rear, keeping close watch for anything following them, while staying close enough to other two without losing sight of them.

Finally, the daylight was shining brightly down on them and the rest of the l'cie were safely awaiting their arrival. They all cheered at the sight of three as they appeared though the dense fog and a sense of relief overwhelmed them all.

"We were scared you were goners" Fangs commented "We heard all the noise, when everything went quiet."

"Keep tellin yah" Snow replied "The hero's always win…" Everyone laughed at the matter-of-fact way Snow responded to Fang, as if they shouldn't have worried themselves over the outcome.

Sazh slapped Snow on the back "Ya know, one of these days, we're probably going to start believing that", shaking his head at the confidence this 'kid' had in himself and of the group.

Serah was so proud of Snow, destroying two Behemoths all by himself, and excitedly retold the story to the others as they continued their search for the elusive mission mark. She also gave praise to Lightning for calling Odin, which prompted her to call on Orion.

"There it is!" Hope shouted, pointing at a cliff just ahead of them, "I think that's the monster we're looking for."

They checked the map and indeed it was the object of the focus that they had been searching for. They all took off on a run to encounter the dragon-like bird before it could leave and hide once more.

Upon accomplishing their mission, they checked the map for the closest Cie'th Stone to their current position. It wasn't too far, which they were grateful for, since there were no Chocobos in sight at the time.

Snow found his opportunity to tell the story of the reaction his brand had to the appearance of Orion and Odin. Fang laughed so hard, she could barely walk, infecting the others with laughter as well.

Lightning was seething, but she knew this was coming. She stopped in her tracks, crossed her arms in front of her, and stared at them all.

Vanille had to explain to Hope why Lightning didn't care for the reaction that Snow's brand had to Odin's appearance. He was just a kid after all, and was barely starting to take a serious interest in girls and relationships. He blushed and lowered his head as Vanille quietly told him, and she watched as a broad smile appeared on his face.

"And you thought I was kidding" Fang turned and said to Light, "Can't say I didn't warn yah, the Eidolons can feel what we feel, and the little one there loves you both."

Fang knew she had made up the story, but wasn't about to tell Lightning that piece of information. It seemed logical at the time, and was delighted at the fact that some reaction had occurred to substantiate her claim.

Lightning narrowed her eyes on Fang, she felt her blood running hot, and fighting back an impulse to slash this annoying woman into small bits of Pulsian hamburger.

"Drop it" Lightning warned, as her face grew increasingly flush with anger, un-crossing her arms and allowing one to slip towards her weapon.

"You need to learn to relax" Fang teased back, knowing she had pushed Lightning as far as she could, "Don't take everything so seriously. Besides, what do you care if Snow's Eidolons like Odin?"

Lightning began to calm down, knowing this was end of this nonsense for the moment. She wondered what the next thing would be that this woman would come up with to annoy her, and couldn't decide who pissed her off more, Fang or Snow.

Snow had received the reaction from Lightning he expected, and enjoyed it greatly, since he was not the target of her fury this time. He turned to start walking towards the next Cie'th Stone, holding Serah's hand and still smiling from the event. Pain suddenly struck him in the back and he realized he'd been punched from behind by Lightning.

"Owww!" he protested, "What was that for?"

"Opening your mouth" Lightning sarcastically responded, walking past the two of them to assume the point to the next stone.

They continued their journey, running across Sazh's little cactuar's on occasion. There seemed to be dozens of these things running about and when encountered, they just ran away.

One of their missions was to defeat a giant cactuar, and this was one of most difficult battles yet. It took strength, strategy and determination to finally destroy the thing. It was immune to most magic, with the exception of Daze, which Fang keep casting so it wouldn't shoot them with ten-thousand needles.

The chip that Snow carried had given them clues to strengthen their weapons using minerals found on Gran Pulse, and instructed them on new magic technics. Each of them now had a special magical technic they could use in battle, but had to use it sparingly as it drained their strength quickly.

The chip also divulged a secret about a coin that would allow them to absorb twice the energy of the defeated opponent. It showed them the sequence of the Cie'th Stones to visit and, after completing the focus of each, the last stone would present them with the coin.

They did as the chip instructed, and obtained the coin from the last stone in the sequence. Snow was elected to carry the coin since he had a couple of zippered pockets on the inside of his coat and no one wanted to lose this precious item.

Bhakti, on occasion, also offered tidbits of information, but the strangest one was an ominous warning about the sixty-fourth Cie'th Stone. The map only showed sixty-three, Serah counted them twice to make sure. They were hoping that more information would be forthcoming, before they had to deal with this anomaly.

It took most of the day for them to crisscross Gran Pulse and to transport to the same areas over and over, to complete most of Cie'th Stones requests. They conquered another of the Undying in the tunnels, unlocking the barrier to last town they hadn't entered yet.

They were tired and hungry, their last meal at noontime consisted of butter squash they found growing wild on the plains. Plans were being made on a suitable camping spot for the night, when Vanille offered her suggestion.

"Why don't we just transport back to Oerba for the night?" she questioned "We have food and shelter there, and we cleared out all of the Cie'th, or at least most of them. In the morning, we can just transport back here."

"That's a great idea!" Hope exclaimed, commending her for coming up with such a great solution.

"Sounds like a plan to me" Sazh said, smiling at Vanille "Is everyone agreed?"

Everyone agreed that it was the best idea and transported back to Oerba for the night. Tomorrow they could finish the Cie'th Stones and explore the new town they found. The one thing on everyone's mind was this Titan Trials thing that Bhakti kept going on about. It didn't sound pleasant in the least.


	25. Chapter 25 - Titans Trials and Tonberry

_This finishes up their activities on Gran Pulse…you will notice I skipped a lot of detail about the missions of the Cie'th Stones. I only included events that I felt were relevant or interesting to the story, adding small events that came to mind._

_The next chapter will start with their encounter with Barthandelus on the train bridge and events will significantly start changing from that point on. _

_Please don't be shy to review, it helps to know what you liked about the story._

* * *

The Chocobos were grazing on the Gysahl Greens of the plains, enjoying the cool breezes that rustled through their soft, yellow feathers in the early morning light. Their cackles echoed across the awakening landscape, infusing with the faint sounds of the other Pulsian wildlife, arousing to confront the new day.

The l'cie needed the Chocobos to reach their destination of the newly discovered area, so each of them slowly approached the birds to find a mount. Sazh had a difficult time securing a ride until the Chocobo chick popped out of his afro and chirped wildly at the other Chocobo's. Whatever the chick had said apparently worked, as one of the Chocobo's walked up and stood patiently while Sazh leaped up onto the birds back.

"Good job!" Sazh told his little friend, "Nice to have someone in my corner!" The little bird made some cute little chirps and disappeared back into Sazh's afro, securing itself for the upcoming ride. Sazh guided the bird over to where the rest of the group was waiting, noticing they had found the event rather amusing.

"The Chocobos giving you the bird?" Snow asked factiously, his eyes twinkling with delight, as Serah turned her head to conceal her snickers from Sazh. Hope and Vanille both looked down trying hard not to laugh and Fang laughed out loud, not caring whether Sazh liked it or not.

"Think that's funny, huh?" Sazh replied sarcastically, "Real comedian, you are!" He raised his arm and tilted his hand in a questioning gesture "Can we get on with this?"

"Right!" Snow smirked, turning his Chocobo towards the open plain and urging the bird into a high speed pace. The others followed and it wasn't long before each of the Chocobo's, along with their mounts, where jumping up onto a high cliff to reach the new area. Upon reaching a meadow, they were very cautious to avoid the huge plant-like creature protecting its young in the far corner, as they entered the opening that would take them to the town.

When they reached their destination, they urged the birds slowly ahead, coming to a halt where they could overlook the small valley. Very little was left of the town, the buildings were in shambles and pieces of the stonework lay strewn along the ground. Its only inhabitants were Cie'th of all kinds, wandering aimlessly about and occupying every corner of this sad and forgotten place.

"Shesh!" Fang exclaimed, "This place is overrun with Cie'th. There isn't even enough left of the town to investigate. Do we really need to go down there?"

Snow pulled out the map chip and examined it closely, "There are two more Cie'th stones down there and another path beyond the town with a Cie'th stone" he informed them, as he turned off the chip and placed it back into his coat pocket.

"Let's use the Chocobos to reach the other side" Lightning suggested "We can investigate the town on the way back."

"Yeah, what's left of it" Fang added "OK, Let's get this show on the road", turning her Chocobo to start the descent into the ruins.

"I have a bad feeling about this" Sazh commented, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, me too" Hope confessed to him, "Something's different about this place, but I just don't know what it is. It's making my skin crawl"

They rode the birds as fast as they dared through the ruins, dodging the Cie'th, and then jumping the high wall at the end of the town. Pleased with their accomplishment, they paused shortly to overlook the place from a different perspective before proceeding forward, but quickly found the path had a barrier placed on it.

A red Cie'th Stone stood upright outside of the barrier, which meant they could go no further until the focus of the stone was defeated and the barrier would be removed.

When Vanille reached down from her mount and touched the stone, the focus it displayed was to defeat another of the Undying. The stone called it Zenobia, the Butcher, and told of the unmerciful havoc it dispensed on the Haerii Archaeopolis.

"Well, now we know the name of this place", Lightning stated, seemingly unfazed by the kind of monster they were going to have to engage and kill to clear the barrier in front of them.

Sazh sighed heavily, shaking his head back and forth, "How many of these Undying things are there, anyway?"

"Keep it together, old man" Fang snorted at him, "Don't need you falling apart now."

"Snow, where's the target supposed to be?" Lightning asked, looking inquisitively at him while he examined the map.

"It's in the town" he said as he turned his Chocobo to head back to the cliff. "It's supposed to be right there" he pointed to the center part of the ruins, which was surprisingly void of Cie'th.

"But" Serah questioned, "there's nothing there…are you sure?" as a look of confusion came over her face.

"Yeah, see…" Snow replied, turning the hologram towards Serah so she could examine the location indicated on the map.

"You're right" Serah continued, "I don't get it, there's nothing there and there's nothing around it."

"Well, only one way to find out" Lightning said, as she prompted her Chocobo to jump down the wall and back into the town. "Stay alert!" she warned, as the others followed her lead.

Snow slid off his mount and walked over to Serah to help her off her Chocobo, sneaking a kiss from his beloved before setting her down to the ground. The others also started to dismount, allowing the birds to flee the area back to the safety of the meadow.

As they walked towards the space indicated on the map, everyone stayed closely together not knowing what to expect. Suddenly, loud rumbling noises could be heard and the ground under their feet starting shaking violently. They all jumped back away from the area, as they watched the ground start to crack and break apart, emitting a large cloud of dust.

Multi-colored tentacles, of crimson and white, began to appear through the dust cloud, pulling a gruesome crimson-colored figure to the surface. Serah and Vanille gasped at the sight of this creature, as Snow quickly stepped in front of Serah to protect her.

"Ohhh, this is just great!" Hope nervously mumbled to himself, pulling out his boomerang and stepping a little closer to Sazh for some reassurance.

The l'cie readied their weapons for the encounter, when Fang yelled "Tonberry!" pulling Vanille behind her so quickly that Vanille almost fell to the ground. "They're nasty little demons" Fang loudly warned the others, "with powerful magic spells. Don't underestimate these guys because of their size", positioning her weapon in front of her and preparing for the worst.

In front of them was a little green creature with solid gold-colored eyes, only two feet tall and holding a butchers knife and a lantern. It looked like a lizard that walked upright, wearing a brown monk-like garment with a thick green fish-tail that poked out from beneath it.

They watched the Tonberry as it quickly scurried towards the Undying Cie'th, sticking the knife into its ankle. The Cie'th screamed and shrieked in pain, while blood sprayed out of the wound in all directions. It then shook violently and fell backwards to the ground with a large thud, stone-cold dead.

The sight stunned everyone, one stab from a knife and this little green monster had taken down a powerful Cie'th. Fang yelled at them all, "It's an evil, wicked demon and now it'll be coming for us! Stand ready everybody!"

He stood in silence as he displayed his knife to them, turning it back and forth so they could see each side of the blade. He then touched the knife to the lantern, as a look of evil spread over his little green face.

"Hope, Sazh….we need protection!" Lightning shouted quickly, "Snow, throw Libra on it….find out how to fight it!"

The Tonberry began his attack on the l'cie just as Snow threw the Libra technique on him, allowing them to find out it was susceptible to Daze. Fang wasted no time in throwing her Daze magic on this evil little creature she despised so much. Hope and Sazh cast every protection and enhancement spell they had onto the team, while Snow and Lightning started relentlessly attacking to bring it down.

Hope and Sazh then started casting their Ravager magic, along with Serah and Vanille. They all worked in unison, switching from one type of magic to another to keep the Tonberry at bay and everyone's defenses intact. Fang was quick to keep the Daze spell on this beast, as it prevented the Tonberry from conjuring up his ultimate grudge spell that would kill them all in a matter of seconds.

Lightning yelled "Out of my way!" as she lashed out with her blade, striking the green demon its last blows, sending it back to hell from whence it came.

"Oh, yeah!" Snow shouted, raising a clutched fist to his face, "Way to GO, sis!"

Snow's enthusiasm brought a half-crooked grin to Lightning's face, "Geesh" she thought "Wonder what got into him? He actually made me feel good for once without screwing it up."

Vanille fell to her knees, coming to rest on her legs "We survived" she quietly said, looking up at Fang, with an expression of relief in her voice. "I never thought we would survive a Tonberry attack."

"Team work, Vanille" was all Fang could say to respond, also relieved that they survived the dreaded attack of a Tonberry.

"Looks like we have some climbing to do" Snow said to the others, pointing to the debris-ridden wall they had just come down from. Snow proceeded to rest his knees to ground, calling for Serah "Come on, baby! Hop aboard!" he lightheartedly shouted, "Uh…just watch the daggers, OK?"

Serah loved piggy-back rides from Snow and carefully wrapped her arms around his neck and secured her legs around his waist, making sure the daggers were well out of the way. Snow rose to his feet and started for the wall, taking the lead to start climbing.

Fang followed Snow while she assisted Vanille up the rubble-strewn wall and Lightning was helping Hope. Sazh just shook his head and grumbled "getting too old for this sort of thing" as he started his ascent up with the others.

The butcher was defeated and the stone glowed in contentment as its focus was at long last fulfilled, removing the barrier that blocked their progression, enabling them to enter this mysterious area. The Cie'th Stone blazed a beautiful red color, emitting red sparkles, and Snow knelt by the stone to allow Serah to slip back to the ground, wondering what happens to the stones after their focus was complete.

"Uh, what happens to them?" Snow asked, pointing to the stone, "You know, after their focus is completed…."

"Oh, they'll glow like that for a while" Fang answered "Eventually, they'll just disappear. It's said that they find peace and their spirits move on." Snow smiled at the thought of this, it made him feel good they were helping spirits to finally find peace after suffering for so long.

Following a twisting and debris-filled trail, the group approached a sheer cliff, thousands of feet down. Across the gorge was a creature so enormous, it prompted Snow to immediately comment "Look at the size of that thing! What does something that big eat, anyway?"

Fang replied calmly, "He's a biogenitor. He swallows one species and spits out another, stronger than the one before it"

Bhakti started whistling and beeping, and then the chip in Snow's coat began vibrating. Snow quickly pulled the chip from his coat pocket, holding it firmly in his gloved fist until it became still and displayed a hologram…

_Titan is the name of the biogenitor and he will test your strength and endurance to its limits. Once you begin, do not cease, else you will start from the beginning again. One failure will lead to your doom by his hands…._

Vanille had taken Bhakti from his pouch to find out why he was making all the noise, "Bhakti, what's wrong little friend?" she compassionately said while patting its head, "Why all the fuss?"

Bhakti then displayed a message across his screen _'One more of the Undying remains to be defeated, the fiercest and deadliest of them all. The Cie'th is known by Attacus, the Soulless'_

At that moment, Titan began to speak to them, "Whoa!" Hope shouted "It talks!?" He told them that only the strongest can survive and the l'cie must prove their strength to continue to exist. When Titan concluded, a stone rose in a corner by the cliff, enticing them to accept the challenge of the giant fal'Cie.

"Boy, wasn't that batch of good news!" Sazh sarcastically commented, turning to look at the stone that had just risen. "So, do we take on the trials now, or go back to the town?" he asked the others, not particularly caring for either choice facing them.

"We're here now" Lightning told them, as she walked towards the stone, "Let's finish this." There were no objections, so Lightning touched the stone which transported them to beginning of Titan's Trials. There were four tiers to trials, each tier added difficulty and opponents. They fought bravely and fiercely through each level, reaching the fifth and final challenges at Titan's Throne.

They thought they were done, that they had won their right to survive, but Titan had one more conquest they would have to overcome to win that right. He placed a King Behemoth in front of them, one of tremendous strength and endurance. "Talk about survival of fittest…." Sazh blurted out, as the beast stared them down and let out a tremendous roar.

A figure appeared on a rocky cliff, jumping down to the flat area in front of the l'cie. "A Cie'th?" questioned Snow, as everyone watched the events unfold. The Cie'th looked like no other they had encountered before. It had four arms on each side of its body, which was an eerie color of light-silvery blue, and wielded a sword that was as big as the Cie'th himself.

The Cie'th ran for the Behemoth and unmercifully ran the beast through with the sword, then proceeded to lift it off of its feet while still impaled on the sword, and dumped it over the edge of the cliff.

"Uh…I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he's not here to help" Snow commented, not really caring for what they had just witnessed. They all noticed the red eye in the middle of Cie'ths chest and knew this had to be the last of the Undying Cie'th, the one Bhakti had warned them about.

Serah quickly threw Libra on it, and they found this Cie'th to be only slightly susceptible to four different de-buffing spells. They would have to destroy this thing using brute force and as much defense and enhancements spells as they could muster.

Attacus had another unpleasant surprise for them for when it felt it was the losing the battle, the thing would miraculously pull a bigger sword from the red-eye on its chest, delivering more damage than the previous weapon before it.

Victory finally came after one of longest battles the l'cie had fought up to this time and had tested every skill the team had among them. Titan approved of their strength and endurance, giving them all his blessing to leave and to continue to exist. Their power and strength had grown tremendously as they absorbed the energy of all the defeated combatants during the trials.

"Well" Sazh remarked "If our little friend is right, that's the last of those Undying things we'll see, which suits me just fine!"

"Yep!" Vanille replied to him, then turned to Hope and shrieked "See, we did it! We can do anything when we put our minds to it!" as she excitingly shook Hope by the shoulders. Hope smiled broadly at her enthusiasm, but was hoping she would stop shaking him soon since it felt like she was going to snap his neck at any time.

"Hey, Snow, how many of the Cie'th Stones are left?" Fang asked, anxious to finish this quest they were on and start figuring out what to do next.

Snow took out the map chip and tossed it to Fang, as he rushed over to Serah, picking her up and swinging her around in victory. They both laughed then embraced in a passionate kiss, as they drifted off into their own little world for a moment.

Lightning had already started walking back to the town, she saw no need to celebrate just yet. There was still so much to do, still so much they didn't know. Serah had hinted that she had an idea of what was going on, but didn't want to elaborate on it to her just yet.

"Hey!" Fang shouted to the others as she started following Light back to the town, "We're getting left behind and we've got a town to clear out. Come on…there's only a few more stones to finish."

"Suppose we should go, Huh?" Snow softly whispered to Serah, still embracing her with her feet dangling in the air.

"Yeah, I suppose so" she replied, with reluctance in her voice. She secretly wished she could stay where she was, securely held in the arms of the man that she loved so much.

"You know I will always love you, don't you Serah?" Snow cooed to her, hugging her tightly to him.

Tightly hugging him, she lovingly responded "I'll always love you…I'll always be there for you…no matter what. You can count on that."

He kissed her again before gently setting her back on the ground, then taking her hand, they started off to catch up to others, each gripped in the warm and wonderful feeling of the love they felt for one another.

More battles, more victories….The Cie'th Stones were all completed….There was nowhere else to go, except back to Oerba. They were able to move about Oerba more freely, as they had cleared most of it out of Cie'th. The only place left to clear was the old rusty train station and what was left of the tracks. They decided this was their next task, to completely clear the entire area of Cie'th, as this was the most habitable place they had found….


End file.
